But You Still Love Me Even If I'm Cruel
by viettvnt
Summary: Sequel to"You Gotta Be.." Based on Diamonddust Not long after Reimei's been assigned as captain,she finds out that Toushiro has gone missing after a mission and is now suspected of being a traitor&Reimei wants answers;What has Toushiro got to hide from he
1. Man Hunting A Snowman

**Vietvn: OMG! It's been so longg! And its the sequel's first chapter evryone!! I'm sorry for the late update in this but A LOT of school work was involved, not to mention I caught the cold and I'm planning on starting some own personal projects (redocrating my room to be more specific) so yes, UPDATES WILL BE SLOW**

**Like it or not, I can't do anything about it, I apologize sincerely and I have to admit I'm still tryna find a way to make my story relate to DiamondDust Rebellion but in a whole new different way; I only have a foggy outline of an idea in my mind at the moment so I need more time to think.**

**Chapter One: Man Hunting a Snowman**

I never would've thought that this kind of thing would happen to me. The meeting has long been adjourned and it was declared by the old man that the tenth division would be placed under house arrest and might risk getting disbanded. Now the Gotei 13's top priority is to find and retrieve the King's Seal and to capture the man responsible for it's defenses and has gone missing afterwards; 10th division captain Hitsugaya Toushiro.

I gritted my teeth; damn him for being reckless and I thought I had warned him not to do anything. But I wasn't entirely angry at him because I know he doesn't act without a reason; especially if it's something like this.

"Reimei?"

I snapped out of my thoughts as someone called my name. I looked up and saw that Matsumoto, Renji and Rukia were staring at me. We were all in the tenth division compound as the first division lieutenant confiscated all of the member's zanpakutos.

"Huh?"

"You must be taking all of this in pretty hard huh?" asked Matsumoto, smiling a bit. I lowered my eyes and shook my head a bit solemnly.

"No, sure I am mad at him but I know him well enough that he wouldn't do something reckless without a good reason." I replied.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sure Hitsugaya-taicho would come back soon." commented Renji.

"I guess, "Matsumoto sighed, "Sheesh, why does everyone have to leave without saying a word to me?"

"Hitsugaya-taicho isn't like Ichimaru!" countered Renji, picking up the meaning that was behind Matsumoto's statement.

"Renji!" hissed Rukia warningly. I glanced behind me and noticed that they were done with collecting the zanpakutos. A guard came over and told us it was time to leave. Renji, Rukia and I turned to leave.

"Wait," called Matsumoto as she took a hold of Renji's forearm. He turned in question to her.

"There's something I need you to look into for me...The man that Captain went after, I think he might be connected to him somehow..." I thought about what she said; at least that gave us a clue as to why he might've left at the scene of the attack.

"We'll be sure to then, thanks Matsumoto; this might lead to somewhere." I replied, smiling. She smiled back.

"When you find him, give him a punch or two."

I giggled and nodded. Matsumoto released her hold on Renji and we all left as the doors to the division closed.

"We should head to the Senkai Gates now to investigate, I have a feeling Ichigo might know some things." I said.

"Tanaka-taicho..." Rukia called quietly as we're walking.

"Hm?"

"You're...Not really going to kill Hitsugaya-taicho...are you?" I flinched a bit at her question but recovered afterwards.

"No! Of course not! I just said that to get Yamamoto to let me in on the action. "I said, waving my hand and smiling at the Kuchiki, "Besides," I added in, my smile slowly slipping away, "I want to ask him myself."

As you might've figured, I was put in charge of going to the human world to stay and search for clues of where the missing captain might be and where the King's Seal might be. Of course, this mission was originally directed to the sixth division but I had to intervene. I didn't want my chance of taking action slip by.

_During the Meeting_

_"Our top priorities are twofolds: The search and retrieval of the King's Seal and the capture of the most person related to this incident; 10th division captain Hitsugaya Toushiro. This is a special emergency order." Yamamoto turned towards Byakuya, "Kuchiki-taicho, I'll be leaving you in charge of sending out men to the human world to search for clues. It is most likely the missing captain would still be there along with the enemy."_

_"Wait a second." I called. All heads turned to me and I was beginning to feel the pressure, I swallowed and turned to face Yamamoto before speaking out boldly again, "I would like to ask if I could be placed in this mission too."_

_"Denied; we are all aware of your relationship with Hitsugaya-taicho, what makes you think I will let you roam around freely without having the suspicions of the possibilities that you will try and help him?" _

_I gritted my teeth, resisting the urge to lash out at the stubborn old man, "But that's exactly the point. We don't know for sure if he's committed a felony. It's only right for us to give him a chance to turn in and offer an explanation before we arrest him. And I believe I'm the only one who could talk sense into him."_

_A wave of murmurs erupted from some of the captains. Yamamoto however stayed silent and unmoving. I waited until some of the murmurs died down and all the attention was directed to Yamamoto._

_"And if he doesn't co-operate, what will you do?"_

_My eyes hardened into a semi-glare. I racked my brain for a convincing reply but only came to one. I fixed my eyes on the Soutaicho and said without a falter to my voice, "I won't hesitate to eliminate him."_

_Now everyone was murmuring loudly._

_"Reimei!" exclaimed Matsumoto. She had remained silent after Yamamoto told her to bite her tongue. I glanced at her and saw that she looked absolutely horrified. Who wouldn't be but I gave her a reassuring look, telling her almost telepathically that I was only saying it for show. She bit her lip, smiled softly and gave a small nod to show that she understood._

_"That is very bold of you Tanaka-taicho to put the law before your own love. Very well," Yamamoto said at last, silencing the captains, "Kuchiki-taicho, what do you say?" Everyone turned to the noble and waited for his answer to which he replied nonchalantly;  
_

_"If that is how it is, so be it. I will grant her permission to take charge of supervising the officers I choose to the human world."_

_"That is the final decision. If anything were to happen, Tanaka-taicho, you will take full responsibility."_

_"Hai!"_

_"I declare this meeting to be adjourned."_

It turns out Byakuya decided to get Renji and Rukia to join me since I guess they had the most experience in the human world. So now here we are, in Karakura town.

"First we need to find Ichigo," I said, surveying the area. We were near a lake with a large bridge just up ahead that lead from one side of the city to the next.

"Ichigo lives in a family clinic that his dad owns. He might be there." Rukia answered. I nodded.

"Lead the way then."

Rukia inclined her head and took off flash stepping with me and Renji behind her. We were lead to a small neighborhood but before we could advance any further, we spotted the orange top lying unconscious in an empty lot not too far from his house.

"Ichigo!" shouted Rukia, running over to his unconscious body, "Get a hold of yourself!"

"How pathetic; I'll just have to "resuscitate" him..." smirked Renji as he knelt down to Ichigo's body, I just stood off to the side watching them wake trying to wake Ichigo up.

"_**I can barely feel his reiatsu presence but it was here..."**_

"_Who would've thought that something so small could cause such a big problem..."_

'_If he was here then he must've either got caught by the enemy or got caught by Ichigo from sneaking out...'_

"Wake the hell up Ichigo, you wuss!"

"W-Wait! Renji!"

I directed my attention to them just in time to see Renji through a punch at Ichigo's head and the moment it hit, Ichigo bolted upright clutching his face. I sighed; I wasn't sure if hurting an already injured person would help but it got the job done.

"See? My way works faster."

"Renj! You ass! What the hell was that for?!" shouted Ichigo, now sporting a nice black eye.

"You're the one who's passed out the whole time!" retorted Renji, pushing his forehead against Ichigo's.

"What?!"

"You two can pick a nice spot to argue later but right now I need to know what happened." I called as I walked up to the orange haired shinigami and towered over him.

"Reimei? You're here too?"

"Yes I'm here on an investigation concerning a certain missing captain now..." I said. At the statement, Ichigo blinked as realization struck him and he began to survey the area. After drawing to a conclusion, he placed a hand over his face again.

"Shit...How long was I out for? And where'd Toushiro go?" He began to scratch the back of his head while muttering to himself but we all managed to catch his pondering thoughts.

"Toushiro..." I repeated to myself almost in a daze. I guess it was still a shocker that he just up and left like that. My mind still didn't really grasp that idea.

"You met up with Hitsugaya-taicho?" inquired Rukia, staring at Ichigo eagerly.

"When? And where was he?" piped up Renji also curious.

"You guys..." Ichigo said in an almost questioning tone.

"Ah," I answered his unasked question, "Again, that's why we're here. So Ichigo, we should head inside your house to get you fixed up a bit. You look terrible."

He rolled his eyes, "Thanks..."

He slowly got up and headed back to his house, by then it was daybreak. Ichigo went back into his body and treated the cut he had on the side of his forehead. When we came into his room, I spotted a familiar white haori which bore the insignia of the number ten on the back. I took it in my hands and unraveled it from its neatly folded state.

"That haori...It's Hitsugaya-taicho's" I heard Rukia say from behind me.

"Toushiro..." I whispered, "What are you thinking?" I fingered the soft material before noticing a dark stain hidden on the inside. It was easily recognized as blood.

'_He's injured...Now he's being way too reckless; still fighting even with a wound.'_ I narrowed my eyes, '_You better have a good reason Toushiro or else...'_

"Oi, Ichigo! Why didn't you stop him?!" demanded Renji, grabbing a hold of Ichigo's shirt by the collar.

"I tried but he went anyways." Ichigo retorted, using his arms to break free from Renji's grasp. I looked up from staring at the haori to Ichigo, he turned to me with a saddened look on his face.

"I'm sorry Reimei, I really did try."

I shook my head, "It's okay and I know you did." I sighed; I was starting to get tired of people sympathizing for me just because they assume I'm the one who's taking it the hardest. But really I'm not. Sure I'm angry with the snowball but I'm more determined to ask him what happened then be angry or sad he left. I know 100 that it was for a good reason. Besides, he wouldn't leave me for good...Would he?

"Besides, the only reason I had trouble keeping him from going was because of these two weird chicks." added in Ichigo, scratching the back of his head.

"Chicks?" asked Renji as if the word was foreign to him.

"They looked like Vizards or Arrancers but I couldn't really tell."

"And did Toushiro say anything before he left? Anything at all?" I inquired a little too quickly.

"Well, he said he'd get the King's Seal back." said Ichigo slowly, trying to recollect his memories, "But there was more...Uhh...Oh yeah!" He turned to face Renji, Rukia and me.

"Who's Kusaka?"

"Kusaka?" We all repeated in question.

"He said it's the name of this guy he killed or something. And then he..." The orange haired teen trailed off.

"He must be the person Matsumoto was talking about. She mentioned that he was connected to Toushiro somehow. An old friend perhaps?" I pondered to myself, a finger placed under my chin.

"Then I think it's worth looking into." said Rukia, looking at me. I nodded my head and turned to Renji.

"Renji, can you head back to Soul Society and look up who Kusaka might be?"

"Sure, but why me?" asked Renji.

"For me I'll most likely be prohibited from having any contact with Matsumoto-fukutaicho." filled in Rukia.

"I'm stationed to monitor and investigate anything that happens here." I added in on my behalf, "And also..." I gestured the haori in my hands to Renji who took it, "You should update her about Toushiro's well-beings. I'm sure she must be worried." Maybe more than I should be. That's what got me. Right now I'm supposed to be in such a mess; worrying over my dearest, constantly having him in my thoughts but no, none of that. I was really neutral about this. Maybe I had an understanding of what position he was in right now, reason being that I had my own experience as well. Or maybe the feeling of being worried, angry, and anxious and maybe even a bit heart broken would all come clashing together when I actually see him. After all, he did leave without a word.

I heard the red head sigh and muttered lowly to himself, "Talk about a dirty job..."

I mentally agreed; this is one nasty situation for all of us. And the hunt for the snowball has finally begun.

**Ooouu the hunt starts now :O Reimei's feeling a bit strange about herself (thought wise) from all of this so what'll think happen when she encounters Toushiro?? R&R I'll get back to you ASAP and remember; IF I START A STORY, I WILL FINISH IT EVENTUALLY. So please, be patient :)**


	2. Two Words

**Vietvn: Whoo! Chapter two finally! omgg that took a while, but once again school's being a beach and I have this art thing to do which is tedious and my art teacher is also a beach -.- But I will persevere! yes!**

**Here it is, chapter two, this I think will probably be the last time I'm putting things from diamonddust (and another small stuff in the next chapter but that's it) I'm gonna start putting my own events in :D Okay so yea, enjoy and there might be some few grammer errors cuz i was sorta zoning out while editing XD**

**Chapter Two: Two Words**

After Renji left for Soul Society, Rukia, Ichigo and I headed over to Uruhara's shop to have a 'meeting' and Rukia and I needed to get gigais. The cheerful blonde manager welcomed us with open arms as usual. We didn't have to say a word about gigais before he brought the empty vessels out for Rukia and me. It really amazed me how well informed he was even though he seems so oblivious to the world around him.

I headed into one of the empty guest rooms to use the connected bathroom they had. I was dragging the doll in one hand while clutching clothes in the other. As I entered a room, I stopped halfway to realize that the room I entered was rather familiar.

Memories emerged from the depths of my mind and I finally pinpointed why this room was so significant.

That's right, I remember clearly. It was the room Toushiro and I stayed in when the Gotei 13 was still after me. What other cruel ironic events are there for me next? I shook my head and headed to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind me as I entered.

"_**He is still nearby; we just have to look for him. Do not worry."**_

_**"**__I'm not worried, maybe just a bit anxious but that's it..."_

_"You'll be able to beat him senseless for leaving you in no time...Now wouldn't that make you happy?"_

_**"Shut up lizard. That's not very helpful..."**_

I ignored the two bickering again as I slipped on the black blazer and buttoned it. The outfit I wore was that of a typical school uniform; white collared shirt on the inside, a red bow at the collar, a black blazer, black skirt, high navy blue socks that reached to my mid thighs and black dress shoes.

I sighed, looking down at the skirt. It was a bit too short for my taste. Sure I've worn short skirts but I had tight short shorts underneath but with this outfit that wasn't possible.

Stepping out of the room, I headed to the small room where everyone had gathered. When I got there, Orihime, Chad and Ishida were already there along with Yorouichi in her cat form, lying on a pillow.

"Oh, Reimei. You came just in time, please have a seat." said Uruhara cheerily. I nodded and sat in between Orihime and Rukia, "Well now that we're all settled, we can start brainstorming and try to dig up some information on Toushiro's background."

Each of us thought for a while, well mostly Rukia and I since Ichigo and his friends hardly know him.

"Hmm...Hitsugaya-taicho's time at the Central Spiritual Arts Academy was apparently before I got accepted into the Kuchiki noble family, so I don't know much about him...And even though we both came from Rukongai, I was in Inuzuri while he was in Jiyunrinan."

"...I grew up with Toushiro along with Hinamori who's my lieutenant now. But apparently the time when he entered the academy was the time I graduated early and got accepted into the second division when Yorouichi was a around. After that I left Seireitei to train elsewhere."

"So maybe this Hinamori person can tell us some things, I'm sure she must've stayed around long enough with Hitsugaya-san." suggested Ishida.

I shook my head, "Unfortunately she's still recuperating from overworking herself, she wasn't well to begin with anyways but she still insisted on helping me with Captain's work."

"Ehh!? Wait, you're captain already?!" Ichigo suddenly exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at me. I glared at him and retorted back.

"Yes, didn't you notice the white haori I was wearing when I came?!" He blinked a couple of times. I sighed irritated, that was a sign that he didn't.

"Anyways, just a guess, I doubt Hitsugaya-taicho would tell anything important to Hinamori-fukutaicho..." cut in Rukia, directing us back to the subject.

"Even more so if they were painful memories?" asked Uruhara, glancing at Rukia with a serious expression.

Rukia hesitated for a bit before speaking quietly, "I just think he's that kind of person..."

"I believe he's exactly that kind of person..." I added in, "Toushiro's years of being captain really affected him a lot from what I've seen. He prefers to keep personal issues to himself to deal with rather than get other people involved, even if it meant keeping it from me..."

At that thought I looked downcast a bit, another one of his traits; he thinks it's his own problem to deal with by himself. I guess I still got a lot of trust building to do...

A moment of silence swept through the room before Orihime spoke up, "He must be strong."

"Tch, yeah right." snorted Ichigo. Everyone's attention directed to the orange haired teen who wasn't at all fazed. I looked up and stared at Ichigo also, curious as to why he would make such a bold comment, "Why is it that someone who's strong makes people around him so sad?"

His statement hit me dead on. It was true; deep down somewhere I was actually truly sad that Toushiro had kept something from me. Now I felt depressed. Uruhara sipped quietly on his tea before he spoke up.

"I'll see what I can find. Why don't the rest of you try and search for Toushiro?"

We all nodded, well I tried to but I was slowly drowning in my sorrows.

"_Snap out of it kid! He's near, I can feel it..."_

I snapped out of my trance and got up from my seat.

"_Yeah, now that you mention it..."_

I made my way to the door and exited the shop in quite a hurry, not caring about the confused stares I got from Ichigo and his friends. Once I was clear from the shop's view I broke into a run off in a direction. I could feel the familiar reiatsu presence so near and yet so far. But it was there and that's all it mattered. I ran, turned a corner and continued on running. I didn't know how long I ran for but I eventually stumbled upon stone steps that lead up the hill of the land. Disappearing just near the top, a swish of a brown cape and snow white hair caught my eyes.

'_Toushiro...' _I quickly made my way up the steps two at a time, careful to keep my steps light and my presence hidden. I made it to the top and saw him walking, or more like limping a little up ahead. I hid behind trees and walls of the neighborhood but still tailed after him. I soon followed him to what looked like the entrance of a shrine. Many stairs were laid out in front of him for him to climb and the large red gate loomed overhead. I waited until he was almost at the top before I began making my own journey up the steps. Once I made it up, I pressed my back against the large poles of the gate.

I peeked out just in time to see Toushiro heading into the small, old shinto shrine. He looked exhausted and it sort of broke my heart to see him push himself that much to the point he might as well curl up and die. I moved from behind the pole to the forested area around the shrine. I stayed hidden behind a tree that had a clear view of the shrine. I watched but nothing really happened. I guess the white haired captain was resting inside the shrine.

Shivering, I looked up at the sky and saw that it was nightfall. I hadn't realized that I stayed out here for this long.

"_Maybe your brain's been frozen long enough to not think properly. What the hell are you still doing here?! Didn't you wanna interigate him?"_

_'Oh, right...' _I said absent-mindedly, I felt so dumb but I guess this whole situation was screwing my brain over a lot. I stepped away from the trees but just as I was about to make my way to the small shinto shrine, numerous reiatsu presence started to appear. I immediately withdrew to the branches of the trees and watched as numerous figures appear; surrounding the shinto shrine. I squinted my eyes and recognized them as shinigami officers. After the area was surrounded, two figures appeared in the very front.

"Hitsugaya-taicho! This is an emergency order! Please return to Seireitei!" shouted the tall man at the front, no doubt it was Hisagi. I leaned a bit closer and from what I could make out from the moon's light, Kira was also there. Silence followed after Hisagi's echoing voice but soon, the door the shrine creaked open and out stepped Toushiro. I bit my lip, even from here I could still see the wound that was stained with blood. He honestly wouldn't think about fighting even with that wound would he? I scoffed to myself; who am I to kid, he's a captain AND he's reckless.

"I will not." replied Toushiro boldly before grabbing the hilt of his zanpakuto. Everyone else flinched and also grabbed onto theirs as he came charging in. At first, he was in a blade lock with Kira and Hisagi but then he pushed off and flung Hisagi all the way back to the huge gates. I could only watch in silence, my right hand stuffed into the pocket of my blazer fiddling with the gikon dispenser.

"Way of Binding No. 62: 100 Stepped Rails!"

'_What?!' _My eyes darted to Hisagi who was perched on top of the large, red gate to the shrine grounds. From his hands he threw a bright rod the size of a bo stick which soon multiplied into dozens in mid air.

'_Toushiro!' _I reverted my gaze back to the captain and saw that he flash stepped, avoiding the majority of the pins. Just when I thought he would make it, he was struck through the chest by one of them.

I narrowly stopped myself from shouting out by clamping my hand over my mouth. I felt my heart beat faster against my chest. For that short moment, I didn't realize what was going on until the chilly night temperature started to drop even further.

"Soten Ni Zase; Hyourinmaru!"

"_**That's our cue!"**_

I pulled the gikon dispenser out of my pocket and pressed the small cat's head. The small green pill came out and I swallowed it quickly before shooting out of my gigai.

"Blow them away; Tsumetai Kaze!" I unsheathed the light blue zanpakuto. Swiping it horizontally, it emitted a strong gust of wind which sliced the ice dragon to small shards.

"It's a surprise to see you here, Hitsugaya Toushiro..." The winds died down and everyone was literally in shock of seeing me standing right at the front.

"Tanaka-taicho!" was repeated throughout the crowd of officers but I had my eyes fixed on the captain in front of me. He was probably the most shocked as he stumbled back a few steps.

"R-Reimei..." I heard him utter under his breath. My eyes saddened for a brief moment before I forced myself to replace it with a glare.

"Everyone step back, I'm going to take him down myself..."

"Tanaka-taicho! We've been specifically ordered to capture Hitsugaya-taicho!" argued Hisagi.

"And you're the one who doesn't stand a chance against a captain-level shinigami. Besides..." I trailed off, gripping Tsumetai Kaze and pointing the blade toward Toushiro, "I did say I will have to resort to killing him myself if he resists..."

Toushiro's sea-green eyes widened even more in shock but this time, he was struck with what seemed like terror and disbelief.

"Reimei...You can't..." He said in a hoarse whisper.

"They've given you a chance, Toushiro. I told the captain-commander that I would only resort to killing if you refuse to turn yourself in and well, what do you know." I wasted no time charging at him, letting a fierce shout escape my throat. My blade crashed with his and we were in a dead lock.

"Reimei please!" He pleaded. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he wasn't accepting the fact that I was going to kill him if he messes up in our fight. But I wasn't, I knew him better. When I betrayed Soul Society, he never turned his back on me so why should I be cruel to him? Maybe there was something else eating at me that made me say I was going to kill him.

Apart from my conflicting inside, I was dead serious on the surface. I continue pushing my blade against his and finally made a sweeping kick. He jumped out of the way in time and flapped his ice wings to gain height. Toushiro managed to retreat to the top of the shinto shrine but I still charged at him, clashing blades fiercely and mercilessly.

"Please Reimei, I'm begging you! I don't want to fight you!" He pleaded again as we locked blades for what seems to be the third time. I remained unfazed but gritted my teeth in attempt to keep myself from lashing out at him even more. What was my body doing? Or more importantly, what part of my mind was making me do this? Didn't I say that I only wanted to try and understand why he would 'betray' Soul Society? The battle with Toushiro was already hard so my inner conflict just made matters worst. Toushiro forced me back and back flipped a few feet away from him, still standing on the rooftop. I looked into his eyes and saw so much sadness; it tore at my heart. I gritted my teeth and blinked away, lunging at him again.

This time when we were in a blade lock, he pushed against my blade almost effortlessly; I realized that my hesitation to fight him was slowly sucking away my strength. But it didn't stop me completely; what was that thing inside me that I can feel that's driving me?

"Reimei, please...I'll ask again. I promised that I wouldn't hurt you ever but this is something I have to do alone..." His words were spoken in a soft mutter so that the both of us could only hear. My eyes narrowed at him in an almost pleading way.

"What must you do alone? I want to help you Toushiro; you know how much you mean to me..." I replied back. A softness overcame his sea-green eyes but then he shook his head lightly.

"_I'm sorry_,"

He swiped my zanpakuto, sending it darting over towards the side and thus breaking our blade lock. In that very fleeting moment, he leaned forward and pressed his lips over mine delicately. His lips left mine before I could respond and a jolt of pain from behind rendered me unconscious.

**GASP! :O Yes there was a reason I made Reimei dumb for a minute there (her not going to Toushiro while he was still alone); one being that she's going through a lot of mental conflict (spacing out) and second is a spoiler :P so I won't tell. R&R please and thank you! :) I'm working on the next chapter so maybe I should finish it by next week (depending on school work -.-)**


	3. Kusaka

**Vietvn: Awww..I feel SO bad for leaving this story for months now! D: I'm apologize 25453613542356 times for the REALLY late update. But a lot of factors affected me from writing; 1. I actually had a writer's block (boo~) 2. holiday homework from every subject I have 3. holiday party mania D:**

**And now its near exams! Gah! which means crunch time and cramming.**

**But you can go ahead and read now!**

**Chapter Three: Kusaka**

I don't know how long I was out for but when I came to, I had figures hovering over me in worry. I had to blink a couple of times to recognize them as Ichigo and Rukia along with their friends.

"Reimei! Thank goodness! Are you alright?" asked Orihime, her voice full of concern. I forced myself to sit up and the group backed away from me to give me space. Rubbing my head, I nodded once.

"Yeah, I guess. Minus the headache..." I replied back in a groan, "What happened to me?"

"We felt Toushiro's reiatsu presence around here. It was strong so we figured he was in a fight with shinigamis from the Gotei 13. When we all came here, we found you unconscious, a whole lot of ice and Toushiro's presence was gone before we could do anything." answered Ichigo, hands stuffed in the pockets of his pants as he surveyed the area.

A flood of memory rushed back to me and I remembered what Toushiro had done before I was knocked out. I narrowed my eyes.

'_Damn it...I let him get away and I couldn't get him to talk about the reason why he was acting like this.' _ But my thoughts changed afterwards and I began to recall my abnormal behavior when I was fighting him, '_Why did I have the intention of harming him when I was fighting? I didn't mean to but I just sort of..did..' _I felt like slapping myself. If that was how I truly felt about this whole thing then...who am I to kid myself. But I'm not really out to get him; I'm still willing to listen to his side of the story but I can't help feeling hurt.

Argh! I sighed and rubbed my forehead; my head was about to explode. I was starting to get angry with myself for being stupid and-...

"_**I'm sure you didn't mean to act violently, you were upset. Maybe next time you can try to get him alone so that you two could properly talk."**_

I mentally agreed; we were after all in the middle of a fight when we encountered each other. And the way he looked at me; so sad and everything, it just makes me want to erase that look forever from my mind. Huh, maybe that's why I was fighting so hard against him.

"Reimei?"

I glanced up at Ichigo, blinking confusedly.

"You were spacing out; we're going back now to rest up since we're all pretty tired. Tomorrow morning we can try to investigate more and figure out where Toushiro is."

I nodded my head, sleep sounded nice. Today's events wore me out a lot and I needed to sleep on my thoughts for now before I could figure things out. Ichigo leant a hand out and I took it, letting him haul me up. I dusted myself and looked at everyone's tired faces.

"But where will I be staying?" I asked quizzically. Orihime smiled and happily replied that she had enough room for me to stay over. I thanked her gratefully and we all parted ways to get a good night's rest.

Unfortunately, my good night sleep seemed to short for me. When I woke up I felt like I hardly got any sleep at all. Maybe I should've checked the time when we got in last night; maybe that might've explained my short sleep. I sighed, staring at the ceiling above me. I was comfortably lying in a futon Orihime had provided me. I was sharing rooms with the nice girl who was still fast asleep in her futon. I shifted my eyes to the ticking clock hanging on the wall.

It read 8:24.

I groaned inwardly, figuring another reason as to why my sleep felt short. Well, at least that means I didn't have to get up. Another hour or two wouldn't hurt. I turned on my side and settled back in my covers, closing my eyes and preparing to put myself to sleep again.

I tossed and turned, finding no sleep and still conscious. I snapped my eyes open and glanced at the clock once more.

It only read 8:45.

Guess the hours of sleep I wanted didn't come to me. I forced myself to sit up and then slowly drag myself to the bathroom to freshen up a bit.

My fingers reached for the tap of the sink. The water ran down freely into the bowl and I cupped my hands under the flow. Gathering the water, I splashed it to my face, letting droplets of water slide off. I stood over the sink for a while, both hands resting on either side of the sink. My long raven-violet hair was in a slight mess; strands of hair misplaced and some slightly knotted.

"_**Reimei..? Are you feeling fine?" **_

'_I...don't know...'_

"_Forget it, bird. She's just going through some of the syndromes of heartbreak."_

_**"Shut up. You're supposed to be helping her!"**_

'_No, he's right....' _I closed my eyes, '_Even though Toushiro has a reason, it still didn't stop me from feeling slightly heartbroken...I mean doesn't he know how much he means to me? I could've helped him. But then again...He must've felt this way when I left. But it was only for helping Soul Society, Aizen's plans were not known and I was the only close enough to find out what it was. For Toushiro....I don't have a clue as to why this Kusaka guy is important to him. Guess I don't know half of Toushiro...' _I paused for a moment. '_Wait....'_

I stopped thinking, realization struck me.

'_Kusaka...Hey, we never exactly heard from Renji who this guy was.' _

"_**You're right...Maybe that piece of the puzzle is vital to solving the bigger picture."**_

I agree, and left my perch on the sink to head for the showers. Now I had my mind fixed on something other than Toushiro.

After showering and getting dressed, Orihime had woken up shortly after and had offered to make breakfast. I happily agreed but soon afterwards decided it was more of a lesson well learned; **never **let Orihime cook. I had to prevent myself from convulsing and dying on the spot when I tried her 'breakfast special.'

I headed back into the room I shared with Orihime. I was dressed in a black and grey striped, long sleeved shirt with a square neck and a white skirt that reached mid-thigh along with high white socks that reached just past my knees. My hair was now neat and tied up in my usual way. I looked around the room and found what I was looking for. Picking up the white flip phone, I searched the contacts book for Rukia's number.

After finding it, I dialed and waited as the tone began to ring. The dial tone stopped as a voice finally answered.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Rukia? It's Reimei."

"Reimei-san? Yeah, what's up?"

"Has Renji found anything about this Kusaka guy yet?"

A sigh came from Rukia, "Unfortunately not. Apparently most of this guy's history has been erased; it's as if he never really existed in Soul Society though we're certain he must've attended the academy."

"Oh..." I said in disappointment.

"But we're bound to come up with something I'm sure." Rukia added in assurance. I smiled to myself.

"Yeah but on other matters, did you find any trace of Toushiro's reiatsu?"

"Not yet, Ichigo and I are still investigating the area where we were last night. If you're ready, you can come with Orihime."

"Okay, we'll be right there. Bye"

"Bye."

I flipped the phone closed and stepped out of the room again.

"Orihime!" I called, not sure where the orange hair girl was. As soon as I called, her head poked out from the living room.

"Hai!"

"I called Rukia, she's with Ichigo at the shrine last night looking for clues. If you want, we can head over there now."

Orihime nodded her head enthusiastically. We both headed towards the door and slipped on our shoes before heading out. We arrived at the shrine again and easily spotted Ichigo with his orange hair and Rukia who was pretty much dwarfed, standing beside Ichigo.

"Did you come up with anything?" I asked upon approaching the pair. They turned and Rukia shook her head.

"There's not much of a trail leading anywhere. It looks like he had taken extra precaution to hiding his presence more carefully because of last night."

I lowered my gaze to the ground slightly, feeling down crested. Everyone must've noticed. When I looked back up, I saw that Rukia and Orihime were looking at me with worried faces while Ichigo had a look of slight understanding. I blinked and quickly waved my hands in front of me.

"Oh no! I'm not saddened by that, it's just..." I trailed off and let out a long sigh.

"It's better to let it out you know. We all know how hurt you probably are because Toushiro left like that." Ichigo suggested, looking far-off into the distance, "You always look like you've got something to think about. So there's no point in hiding it."

"Kurosaki-kun is right; it wouldn't be good to have a troubled mind in this situation. We need to think clearly to be able to figure things out." Orihime piped up. Rukia nodded in encouragement. I smiled slightly but still, a troubled sigh escaped my lips once more.

"It's just that...I'm mad at myself for encountering him but not taking the chance to hear him out. Even though we're in the midst of a battle, I know I could've asked him to follow me to another place where we could talk in private. But even so, I don't think he would tell me still. And I guess that's what sort of saddens me."

A moment of silent swept through, it was sort of awkward for me and I began to shuffle my feet slightly.

"Reimei-san, I'm sure he's doing this to also keep you away from dangers. Kusaka might be a dangerous person to deal with and he wouldn't want to see you hurt because of him." Rukia offered, coming up beside me and giving my arm a gentle squeeze. I smiled slightly, I guess that might be true but even so, that doesn't mean he had to risk his life by himself.

Suddenly Ichigo stretched his arms over his head and made a strained noise following his action.

"Well! Toushiro may be a captain, but he sure as hell doesn't have an idea of what he's putting people through right now. That kid...I'm sure he has a good reason but we just need to beat it out of him." He turned to the rest of us girls and gave a grin, "Let's look around a bit more, maybe there's a trail from his wound or something. He can't get that far with a wound like his."

I nodded slightly and we began to head towards the shrine. We looked around but found no clue whatsoever. It has been a little over two hours of searching but nothing much came up. A little saddened, and a bit hungry, Ichigo suggested we'd take a small break to get something to eat before coming up with a way to track down Toushiro. We went into town and chose to eat at a small cafe. Eating didn't really take long and before anyone could fight over who's paying for the majority of the lunch, we were back outside. The day dragged by slowly for all of us, with nothing to help us with a lead.

We eventually called it a day and decided to hang out at Ichigo's house.

"You know I've been thinking..."Spoke Ichigo thoughtfully. I looked up from my place on his desk, swiveling in the small black chair he had. Rukia was sitting on his bed along with Orihime while Ichigo sat on the floor, leaning his back against his bed.

"Thinking about what?" inquired Rukia.

"Well, I remember that Toushiro said something about that Kusaka guy before he left."

I furrowed my brow in thought too; I had almost nearly forgotten about him. 'Kusaka' was probably the only lead we have as to why Toushiro would 'betray' Soul Society. I urged Ichigo to continue.

"What did he say?"

"Toushiro said that he was someone who he murdered a long time ago."

Murdered? That word shocked me, especially when it was in the same sentence as Toushiro. I thought for a moment, Toushiro isn't the type of person to kill someone unless that person was a threat.

I was cut from my thoughts when a series of beeping erupted in the air. We all turned to the source of the noise and found out it was Rukia's cellphone. She immediately picked up.

"Moshi, Moshi?...Renji? Did you find out anything?....What?!"

We were suddenly startled at the urgency in Rukia's tone.

"What is it Rukia?" asked Ichigo anxiously.

"The Gotei 13 has decided to execute Hitsugaya Toushiro if he resists turning himself in soon. It's been reported that captain of the 8th division, Shunsui Kyōraku, was attacked and is hospitalized. Byakuya-niisama and Renji went to investigate and they found the entire area where the fight was covered in ice." Rukia paused and listened to what Renji had to say but then thought it would be best for us to hear it ourselves. She pushed the speakers on and we listened in on what Renji had to say.

"...Before Kyoraku-taicho and Nanao-fukutaicho were helping me find out more about Kusaka. There was nothing about the guy at all in the records kept in Soul Society. All we really did manage to find out was that he used to be a student at the Academy and by the sounds of it, I'm betting he was Hitsugaya's classmate or something."

"So what you're saying is that he could be a close friend or classmate?" I asked.

"Yeah, maybe that's how Hitsugaya's connected to him. But why Kusaka's existence was almost completely erased, we don't know. I don't even think he graduated. But it's possible that he died before actually graduating."

Renji's information was actually helpful, somewhat. If Kusaka was a close friend of Toushiro in the Academy days, and that he was the man he supposedly murdered....

I groaned; my head was starting to hurt as all the possibilities came flooding in.

"Thanks Renji, keep in touch with us if you find something else." Ichigo said.

"Yeah, and if you ever get the chance, tell Hitsugaya that the Gotei 13 are after his head and they're serious this time."

The line went silent and then clicked, signaling us that he hung up. Rukia closed her phone and heaved a sigh. The exasperation seemed to have affected us all because after her sigh, we all simultaneously slouched our shoulders in dismay.

"Toushiro's got himself in a sticky situation. A big one." Ichigo sighed.

"But now that we have some more information from Renji, we can possibly piece them together and work out an answer." Rukia said, "But we also have to keep a close look out for any signs of Hitsugaya-taicho, with the Gotei 13 out to get him."

"And those Arrancers." added in Ichigo.

I had nearly forgotten about the Arrancer lackys that seem to take orders from this Kusaka guy. I shook my head, lots of thoughts were jam packed into it and it felt like it was going to burst. I stood up and everyone casted a curious gaze towards me.

"I'm going out for a bit...To clear my head." I replied to their stares. Rukia looked worried as did Orihime but Ichigo gave me an understanding smile.

"Just be careful."

I nodded, acknowledging his word of concern and departed the room and out into the rather cold night for a stroll. I sighed, a puff of smoke appearing before me then disappearing. I took a step and let my feet guide me to wherever they wanted to lead me. It's been so long since Toushiro and I have been apart, now that I noticed. It felt empty inside. And it made me sad. Where was he? Was he fine? What does he plan on doing? What is his goal? This loving hate I feel towards Toushiro now, a love that's clear yet not clear at the same time. It all confused me so much. I stopped and glanced up, finding myself in front of the lake near the town. The city lights were twinkling like stars in the night and the moon reflected the surface of the calm water like a mirror.

The scene was tranquil if it wasn't for the jumbling thoughts running around in my mind. Sitting down, I pulled my knees up towards my chest and settled my gaze on the moon in the water. I hate being lost. If Toushiro killed Kusaka who was his former classmate, what was the reason? Rivalry? A conflict? An accident? A misunderstanding? Gah! I shook my head, becoming slightly depressed and frustrated.

"Toushiro..." The name rolled off my tongue in a whisper, "Where are you...?"

**'**_**Mistress...I'm sure he is safe...We will find him and have answers soon...' **_comforted Tsumetai Kaze.

"_I hope so..." _I shut my eyes, trying to remember the good times before any of this happened. But all I could think of was Toushiro. Even though he is a captain, he still does a _lot _of reckless things, this being one of them. Sometimes it makes me question his intelligence. Something cold and wet landed on the tip of my nose and I blinked my eyes open. I did so just in time to catch a glimpse of a snowflake and when I looked around there were many falling from the sky.

I stood up, puzzled. It wasn't suppose to snow yet but I guess it can since it was cold enough.

_**'This isn't snow...He's hiding his reiatsu...'**_

I nearly gasped. If what Tsumetai Kaze said was true then that meant...

"It can't be..."I whispered to myself, not getting my hopes up. If it was Toushiro's snow then I would know. This snow felt so foreign. My senses had no recognition of the snow so it can't be his.

If it wasn't his then who is it?

"Rei-chan..." A chill ran down my spine as the voice called through the night air. On instinct I flicked my wrist, taking out the gikon pill and popping it into my mouth in one swift motion. I jumped out of my gigai and quickly ordered it to head back to Ichigo's house, but it didn't get very far. An unknown force knocked it off its feet and it lay unconscious in less than a minute. I felt my eyes widened in shock and with instincts kicking in again, I pulled out my zanpakuto and blocked the blade that was coming to strike me from behind.

I pushed away and turned around to face my opponent. It was a masked man who also had the similar looking cloak as Toushiro had. His hair was dark and was tied up in a way I couldn't see in the moonlight.

"Who are you?!" I demanded, holding my blade in front of me in defense. The masked offender just raised his sword and charged at me again. We clashed swords, pushed off and were now in a deadlock. I glared at him but then my eyes drifted to the hilt of the sword. It nearly made my eyes pop out of my sockets.

"That...can't be..." I breathed but apparently my opponent heard me.

"But it is...Hyourinmaru..." With the call of its name, my blade started to freeze over with ice. I pushed away quickly and with a swing of my own zanpakuto, broke away the ice.

"How are there two?!" I demanded. My entire conscious was set into overload. There were two many side stories to keep up with this entire situation! Too many questions! Who is this man?!

"I'll tell you who I am, maybe that'll help." He chuckled, slowly sliding his mask out of the way. It revealed an unfamiliar face; it reminded me vaguely of Byakuya's face except the person in front of me held more expression. Also instead of dark violet eyes, they were a bright orange-red. He must've caught on with the confused expression I was forming on my face, because he merely grinned at me and began to speak again.

"I am Soujirou Kusaka..."

"Ku..saka..." I managed to gasp. Again, this guy nearly made my eyes pop out of their sockets. So this was the guy that Toushiro was after? And they have same zanpakuto but this guy was also the person Toushiro 'murdered.'

"Don't get distracted, especially when you still have a fight going on." I didn't realize that spacing out has become a habit of me now. A bad habit. Kusaka had appeared right in front of me and an instant feeling of pain flooded from my right shoulder. Ice immediately started to spout out from the zanpakuto and rendered me unable to move.

"I've heard of you before Tanaka Reimei. If I'm not correct, you're a person who Toushiro cherishes most, even more than that naive girl. Do you know what that means?" He asked mockingly. I could only grit my teeth and glare dangerously at him. Why would I want to answer a question coming from someone like him?

"It means you're a perfect bait."

'_**Reimei!'**_

Before I realized it, I was looking at the world from behind a wall of ice. Or more specifically, I was encased in a prison of ice, that bastard. I couldn't move and I was starting to lose consciousness. Damn it...I can't die now but what can I do, the world around me was already blurring.

**Wow, a lot of emotional conflict going on with Reimei but now she got kidnapped by Kusaka -insert gasp- PS. Har Har, I wonder how Toushiro would react to this. teehee**

**Sorry if this chapter sucks. I'm trying desperately to squeeze as many sentences out of my mind for this story. I worked where this is going afterwards but what I realized about the DiamondDust Rebellion movie is that it's freaking short for a movie D: so dragging out this story to make it longer is going to be a big struggle for me.**

**I still look at myself as an inexperienced writer but please, R&R. Tell me any tips to make it better or anything as long as it's not harsh and not totally stupid and random :) Thanks to all the reviewers of this story! I really appreciate it! :D**


	4. For the One You Love Most

**Vietvn: ...Wow, it's been how long since I updated? WAYYY too long. Sorryy!!! X100000000000 I've been so busy with school and stress got to me with all the projects piling on top, homework every night and overall, that leaves me tired at the end (Damn math and science in the same semester grr..). Plus, I admit I had a small writer's block (more like big... .) BUT I was really happy that I still find people reviewing this story still which makes me happy :D so for that, I will post up two chapters (the other tomorrow b/c I'm worn out...) Basically I tried summarizing everything that happened in the movie in this part so yeahh..just to shorten it.**

**So here it is! Chapter Four!**

**Chapter Four: For the One You Love Most**

"WHAT HAPPENED?!"

The gigai winced at the orange haired teen's voice.

"Reimei-sama's been kidnapped last night by a strange man in a mask. I was knocked unconscious before I could do anything..." it replied sadly once again as it sat rigidly on Ichigo's bed. The poor thing had only come early the next morning and shook the entire Kurosaki resident in panic. It took Reimei's gigai two times to explain the situation before it finally calmed down and the two shinigami made sense of what it was trying to say.

"This is bad." Rukia said. "Do you think it might be Kusaka?"

"Most likely, who else would go kidnapping a shinigami at night?"

"We need to find her before anything drastic happens, I have a feeling that Reimei might be part of Kusaka's plot with whatever he plans to do with the King's seal."

Ichigo sighed and ruffled his hair in frustration. "Leave it up to those two to get in trouble...."

"I'm sorry Rukia-sama, Ichigo-sama...I couldn't prevent this from happening when I was there." Reimei's gigai replied sadly.

"No, it wasn't your fault. You were up against someone who was way stronger than yourself." Rukia comforted, offering a friendly smile. Unfortunately, the calm atmosphere didn't last too long. Ichigo turned away from the pair to gaze out of his window to the bright afternoon sun when he noticed something strange was heading towards them. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he finally pinpointed what was coming and immediately went wide eyed.

"LOOK OUT!" He shoved the two out of the way and the three dove for cover as something crashed through the wall from outside. Once the smoke cleared, Ichigo and Rukia glanced up and saw the two arrancers who assisted Kusaka.

"It's them."

"Then let's go see what they want." Ichigo said, popping a gikon pill into his mouth and sprang out from his body along with Rukia.

"Hey, you two!" shouted Ichigo once they approached the pair.

"I told you before. If you attempt to interfere, you will be eliminated." spoke the blue haired arrancer. Before Ichigo could retort, a new reiatsu presence appeared.

"Shinigami-kun."

"Who're you?!" demanded Ichigo, agitated by the stranger's presence.

"Ichigo, that guy's strong. He's got an abnormal reiatsu." warned Rukia as she still kept a steady eye on the two arrancers in front of them. As the masked man pulled out his zanpakuto, the sheath to the blade disappeared and Rukia easily took note of that and the siginficant star-shaped guard.

"That's...Hyourinmaru!"

"Soten ni zase; Hyourinmaru!" The icy serpent was unleashed at the command and the fight between the arrancers and Rukia commenced. It was proven to be a handful for the two shinigami as both the arrancers constantly interfered with Ichigo's fight. Even though it was difficult to keep up, it was still manageable.

"Who are you?!" demanded Ichigo for what seemed to be the fifth time after their meeting. "How is it that you have Hyourinmaru too?!"

"My name is Kusaka Soujirou. The man who in the Central 46 chamber of Seireitei was murdered by Hitsugaya Toushiro!"

Ichigo stood shocked at what he had just heard from the masked man, who was now identified as Kusaka; the man that they were looking for. Recovering from shock, Ichigo slowly started to piece together the bits of information he remembered about him. It soon led to the first flashback he witnessed when he clashed swords with Kusaka.

'_If I clash swords with him again, will it happen?'_ Ichigo snapped out of his thoughts quickly enough to notice Kusaka charging at him. Without a moment's hesitation, Ichigo charged head on too. As he expected from clashing swords with Kusaka again, Ichigo witnessed another flashback.

'_What is this? A hallucination? Or was it the past?' _With so much thinking on his mind Ichigo hadn't managed to stop the giant ice dragon heading his way. Holding his zanpakuto up in defense, the dragon swallowed him whole and encased him in an icy prison.

"Ichigo!" Rukia shouted in alarm. Her eyes widen at Ichigo's frozen form in the large block of ice. Narrowing her eyes again, she glared at the two remaining arrancers and cursed silently to herself as Kusaka left them behind for her. For the time being, she would have to deal with them alone and only hope Ichigo would survive.

Little does she know that Ichigo was thrown into the part of his conscience where his zanpakuto existed, Zangetsu. He was to say, relieved to visit the rather wise spirit to sort out his thoughts. With the bundle of puzzle pieces gathered, all Ichigo needed to do was piece them together. Though the spirit spoke of only contradicting facts, they offered a hidden advice and keys that always seems to hold the answer. After decoding the hidden meaning of Zangetsu's words, Ichigo finally found an answer that he was sure of.

'_I get it. I know what he's trying to do.' _Full of confidence, Ichigo determinedly headed towards the blue skies to resurface to reality.

'_I have to tell him, no matter what happens!'_

Elsewhere, Hitsugaya -after following the thin trail of reiatsu- had finally reached an underground facility of some sort underneath the town. He was definitely sure that the reiatsu he was following belonged to the bastard that stabbed him. Pushing aside the door, the young captain forced himself down the flight of steps. He gritted his teeth at the strain he was putting on his body but still, he had to push forward. Plus, his sash was becoming a nuisance so with a final huff, he finally tied it around his hand.

Hitsugaya made his way down, glancing around him cautiously. The reiatsu presence was stronger so it was no doubt the man was down here, most likely waiting for him. As if to confirm his thoughts, a light chuckle rang throughout the still air.

"I'm glad you were able to find me, Toushiro. I've been waiting for you."

Snapping his head to the voice, Hitsugaya was at last, confronted by the taller man. At the sight of him, he had to grit his teeth together in anger. As the man in front of him removed his mask, the young captain couldn't help but let out a gasp.

"Kusaka," Hitsugaya gasped. "You took the King's Seal?! What are you planning to do with the King's Seal? Where is it?!"

"Well, it's right here." With that, a bright, golden light filtered through the entire area. Hitsugaya's eyes widened as the sight of something that held so much spiritual power overwhelmed him. Not only was something so small powerful, but it was also potentially dangerous; especially in the hands of someone with evil intentions. The man in front of him hid the small object back into his robes, the light disappearing and leaving them in darkness again.

"We've been stuck in the crossroads for a while now, don't you think Toushiro?"

"Crossroads?"

"You've seen what the Gotei 13 is capable of! Even so, you still stay with them?" The man in front of Hitsugaya strode over to one side of the room, stopping at something large and draped over with a cloth. He turned to face Hitsugaya once again and smirked, placing a hand on the surface of the object and patting it slightly. "Maybe it was because of that girl?"

"If you're talking about Hinamori then leave her out of this." spoke Hitsugaya firmly, still keeping his eyes trained on Kusaka. The said person only chuckled at his retort and shook his head, still wearing a smirk on his face.

"Perhaps it might be her, or maybe someone much closer."

On that sentence, a vision of Reimei's gentle, smiling face appeared in the captain's mind. He involuntarily gasped. "Reimei..."

"Ahh...You caught on quite quickly." chuckled Kusaka, still giving Hitsugaya that mysterious smirk. Piecing together his hints, Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes into a deadly glare.

"What did you do to her?! How do you know her?!" Hitsugaya demanded through gritted teeth. Kusaka chuckled once again, clearly amused by all of this. With a smirk spread wide across his face, Kusaka took a hold of the fabric in his hand and with a yank, the cloth tugged away from what it was hiding.

"Why don't you see for yourself?"

Once the object was completely unveiled, Hitsugaya's eyes widened and he felt the breath in his throat get caught. Frozen in a large block of ice was the raven-violet haired shinigami, the shocked expression still visible on her face. Slowly though, Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed dangerously and by the act of anger, he unsheathed his zanpakuto.

"KUSAKA!" shouted Hitsugaya venomously.

"Calm down, Toushiro." chuckled Kusaka, patting the block of ice. "As long as you co-operate with me on releasing the King's seal then you'll get your precious Rei-chan back."

"Like I would help you do that." replied Hitsugaya through clenched teeth.

Kusaka smiled devilishly. "I'm afraid you have no choice. You see, even with the slightest amount of shock will shatter her into a million pieces."

Hitsugaya stiffened and his glare intensified, knowing well that Kusaka was right. Hitsugaya for once didn't know what to do; co-operate with Kusaka to insure the safety of the one he loved but risk the lives of many others? Or risk losing someone who meant his everything in the safety of millions of others? To add to that, he needed to correct his past mistakes. If only she hadn't gotten involved....but it was too late now and even so, it seemed like Kusaka had already known his relationship with her. Naturally, he would use her as an advantage against him.

The grip on the hilt of his zanpakuto tightened.

"So Toushiro, what will it be?"

Gritting his teeth, the young captain lowered his zanpakuto and tilted his gaze to the ground, letting the shadows conceal his eyes. Though this might be something that he'll regret doing, he was simply out of options.

"I'll do it..."

A maliciously grin formed across Kusaka's face and he chuckled delightedly. "Guess this girl really is worth something to be able to get you to do my bidding. Looks like I caught myself a nice catch after all."

**Dun Dun Dunnn.....Toushiro's going to help Kusaka for the sake of Reimei?? Sweet but what about the rest of Soul Society?! :O!!**

**Alright..So like it this is where things get a little...meh i don't know... Lost? XD Yeah....wait...I'm actually getting an idea forming in my head at the moment......okay yeah, gonna ponder on this before i lose it. Hope this chapter isn't so crappy! R&R**

**Thank you to all of the readers/reviewers for this story!!! Love ya all! :D**


	5. I Realize I Still Love Him

**Vietvn: I LIVEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! Omg, seriously, it's been how long since I last updated this story. SCHOOL'S DONE! Which means I can finally actually work on this story now! I'M SORRY TO ALL THE READERS WHO ARE KEEPING TRACK OF THIS STORY FOR HOW LONGG??? T^T I love you all for that!! Kay, just start off with my first update since....again how long, I've made TWO chapters :D with this twist of event that I just so happen to add in because I can't think of anything else to extend the story So I promise (or hope) that the turn of this story won't be something disappointing.... But for just this chapter only, bear with me D:**

**Chapter Five: I Realize; I Still Love Him**

**Reimei's POV**

I felt my eyes open slowly. I thought I had awakened from being knocked out but that thought soon demolished as I glanced around at where I was. The familiar arctic plains; barren of any other living organisms or physical features was where I stood. The winds whipped at the snow harshly, pulling up particles of powder snow from the ground. They swirled like dust before being carried off into the distance. Despite the harsh climate and slightly darkened skies, the cold feeling was not present. The effects of the cold winds that usually gave me chills did nothing to me.

Breaking from my reverie, a spark of reiatsu drew me towards the left. Not too far was a single lone mountain covered with snow. I headed towards it, knowing too well what I might encounter there. As I reached the mountain's base, I began to climb the chiseled stone steps until I reached the very top. Resting in the middle of the concave opening of the mountain was a frozen lake, complete with a crystallized waterfall off to the side. No snow or whipping winds reached into the area as they were blocked by the high rocks of the mountain's side.

The ice glistened and gleamed brightly despite the little sun offered in the place. I descended towards the lake and gingerly stepped onto the lake. As I reached the middle, I sat down and laid flat on my back, letting the slightly cooled surface relax me. I shut my eyes, taking in the serene feel of the place that I hardly visited. It's as if whatever is going on outside of this world didn't matter anymore.

A ruffle of feathers resounded around the walls of the mountains. I didn't need to open my eyes to see what it was.

"_**You should've been more careful...**_"

"I know...but you have to wonder how on earth he managed to freeze me into a block of ice when I could've easily broken it with yours."

_**"I have a suspicion that it must have something to do with that Hyorinmaru zanpakuto he had. And the King's Seal...But lucky you, I managed to keep you alive."**_

I half nodded; I felt her presence just before I was frozen and the King's Seal. Kusaka was indeed the one who stole it. I finally let my eyes drift open. Glancing to the side, I saw Tsumetai Kaze perched close to me; her wings neatly tucked at her side and she was only about the size of a peacock. She eyed me with her crystal like eyes as she talked through my mind.

"_**You should get back out there, who knows what might be going on as we speak...**_"

I sighed, wanting to enjoy this peace a little longer but I knew she was right. There was still unfinished business to attend to; and there was a certain someone I needed to talk to.

"What a fool he is..." I found myself muttering. Beside me Tsumetai Kaze ruffled her feathers, puffing them out a bit.

"_**He was only trying to protect you from something that didn't involve you...**_"

"But that's what got him into this mess in the first place. Doesn't he realize that there are people around him that want to help him carry a bit of that burden?"

"_**What of yourself when you 'betrayed' Seireitei to spy on Aizen?"**_

I rolled to my side, facing away from the phoenix and rested my head on my elbow. "That was different, no one trusted me or has known me enough for me to consult to them...Plus," I drew invisible designs on the ice with the tip of my finger, losing myself in thought. "Back then, my thoughts were not straightened."

I heard her chirp beside me and poked me with her beak. _**"Even if you weren't in love with him, you could've tipped him on your plans instead of having him worry sick over you..."**_

"He already suspected anyways so it doesn't really matter...."

There was another sound of ruffling feathers. "_**You and your pride...You two are scarily alike it's no wonder you fancy him..."**_

I chuckled a bit; maybe that's why I still love him deep down. I could never hate Toushiro but maybe be a little upset that he tried to take matters in his own hands. Even if he didn't turn to me for help, he could've at least relied on the friends he had. He should know that they're always backing him up. I paused in my thoughts; I shouldn't be confused about this whole thing. My feelings for Toushiro won't change because of this; it shouldn't. I shouldn't let the feeling of being betrayed get the best of me, Toushiro sure didn't when I left Seireitei for Hueco Mundo. He still welcomed me with open arms when they found me, knocked out and beaten up. Not a shred of anger, just relief that I was safe.

Feeling refreshed, I stood up and straightened my outfit. "Better get going, I feel that something's up." Tsumetai Kaze gave a chirp of approval. Crouching low, I sprung upwards towards the skies of the realm. I felt a tickle of feathers brush against my fingertips before turning into a grip of a katana. I felt myself being drawn up faster into the skies and felt myself regain consciousness in reality. A flash of bright light engulfed me and before I even realized it, the world had burst into my vision. It happened so suddenly that it felt like the winds was knocked out of me, my strength evaporating quickly into thin air.

Shimmers of broken ice caught my slightly blurred vision and felt as if my body was made of lead. I felt myself fall back and the howls of the wind rushing pass me rushed into my ear. I continued falling as if it was an endless journey to the ground. It seems that I didn't grasp reality just yet. A part of my mind seemed to still be lingering in dreamland while the other part was trying to grasp what was going on.

Something gripped around my wrist, suddenly alerting me. A warm body collided with mine and what felt like arms snaked around me, holding me close. It was welcoming and familiar at the same time. I forced my half closed eyes open to catch a glimpse at what it could be. My dark amethyst eyes clashed with vibrant turquoise green.

"Toushiro...?" I wondered aloud, having only one name pop into my mind when it came to those brilliant eyes.

"It's okay...." A deep voice gently whispered. Like a lullaby, it soothed me and soon I found my eyes shut and darkness overtook me.

When I woke up, I was still pressed against someone's chest, being held closely in an embrace. My senses started to work again and slowly I regained conscious. As I did, voices slowly became comprehendible to my ears.

"Taicho, you shouldn't have jumped off the cliff like that. You could've both seriously been hurt."

"I know...."

A sigh, "...But that's what a lieutenant's for. They watch their captain's back..."

Silence came afterwards as if the person was in deep thought. I forced my eyes open a bit and looking up, I found myself nuzzled close to Toushiro who still held me bridal style.

"She's awake!" came a voice beside me. I soon recognized it as Matsumoto's.

Glancing up I saw pools of turquoise green stare down at me, relief washing through them like a tide. I blinked a couple of times, making sure I was actually awake instead of dreaming.

"Toushiro...?" I asked again.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a hush tone. I gave him a nod and he slowly let me down.

"Reimei-chan! I'm glad you're alright, taicho was worried sick!" exclaimed Matsumoto.

"What happened?" I asked once I steadied myself on my feet. I turned to Matsumoto with my full attention, wanting to know what happened ever since I got frozen in a block of ice.

"I guess after Kusaka kidnapped you, he brought taicho back to Soul Society at the top of Souyoku Hill with the King's Seal. It turns out he needed someone who mastered bankai to cut it so that he could get the power inside."

"Wait, was he using me as bait?" I interrupted, catching on. The only way to make Toushiro agree to that was use something against him; and that something was me. That bastard. Matsumoto confirmed my suspicion by nodding her head. I started to worry; did Toushiro do what he was asked to in order to keep me safe?

"Toushiro you didn't-..." I turned to him, ready to lecture him if he did but before I could finish my sentence he shook his head. I sighed in relief but then my mind drew back to the situation.

"So what happened then?"

"Kusaka cut it himself since Toushiro hesitated then doubted him. Now we're in this mess." I turned my gaze slightly and caught a glance at orange hair. No doubt it was Ichigo that piped in, coming up behind us with Rukia. He pointed to the sky and my gaze wandered up. I was greeted by a dark, purple sky that had smokes of black through it. What appear to be massive ice branches broke through the walls of Seireitei in different places. I followed one back to the source and it lead me to a massive castle looking thing towering above Seireitei. I was to say, speechless.

"Oh yeah, and one more thing. When Kusaka transformed into this ice dragon, the impact made the edge of the cliff shatter and you were about to fall along with the debris but somehow you managed to break it from the inside at that moment. Toushiro over here jumped off the cliff as you were falling to save you." Ichigo added, gesturing to Toushiro who was off to the side, keeping his gaze in a downcast. So he actually did save me. I smiled lightly; that idiot, risking his life to save mine.

"Oi! You guys alright?" In a flash, Renji appeared, his zanpakuto in shikai form resting against his shoulders.

"Renji! What's happening now?!"

"It looks like we're trapped in the spirit walls of Kusaka's castle."

"Then what should we do?!" asked Ichigo.

"Like I would know...."

A massive swirl of white ribbon appeared and soon Yoruichi along with Soi Fon emerged from within.

"Senpai!" I said, surprised to see her here so suddenly. We rushed over to the two and started to discuss on how to deal with the situation. According to Soi Fon, the Sou-taicho and three other captains were preventing the barriar from spreading any farther. He had also ordered that while he was doing so that we were to kill Kusaka to stop it.

"So do we have to climb the castle walls to get to him then?" I asked, staring back at the massive structure. At the very top, I could make out ice and a large torso of an ice dragon whom I had a feeling was Kusaka. I clenched my fist; I was gonna have to pay him back for freezing me in a block of ice and trying to use me as bait.

"Ah. When we reach there, we'll have to break down the centre tower." Yoruichi replied. She gazed at all of us, "Let's do it now, while he can't move."

"Alright!"

"Hold on a sec!" exclaimed yet another new comer. We all turned and saw Ikakku along with Yumichika. "I want in on this action!"

So naturally, the two joined in just in time as a rumble resounded through the air. From the core of the centre tower at the bottom, a horde of hollows emerged from the bright light. As Ichigo began to take a stance to fight them, Yoruichi interrupted him by assuring that she and Soi Fon would deal with them.

"You all need to get to the centre tower, there's no time to lose!" Before Ichigo could protest, the dark skinned woman and the second division taicho took off towards the horde, activating shunko as they ran.

"Ichigo, we need to get moving. They'll be fine." I said, watching the two take out a dozen hollows at once.

"Alright."

"Taicho..." Matsumoto called, catching the attention of Toushiro. We all turned and at once I recognized the haori in the lieutenant's hands and smiled softly. I glanced back at Toushiro and noticed his unsure look. He must still be thinking that he didn't deserve it after what he's done. His turquoise eyes traveled from the haori to everyone present at the moment. I glanced briefly and noticed everyone giving encouraging looks towards him. Those made me smile more. When I glanced back to Toushiro, our eyes locked once again. Toushiro's eyes softened a bit, guilt immediately rushing through but I only smiled encouragingly at him and gave him a small nod.

Within a blink of an eye, Toushiro had confidently replaced the brown cloak with the captain haori that was rightfully his.

It was then that I knew; he was back.

**Wahhh, Reimei still loves Toushiro even if he made an idiot move to handle things on himself X) Okay! Move on to the next chapter now! Don't forget to R&R!! **


	6. Possessed

**Okay, nothing much to say here except read! X)**

**Chapter Six: Posessed**

"Let's go."

"Hai!"

With that we all sprinted towards the large castle.

"We'll need to split into two groups." Toushiro said as he lead his lieutenant and the two seated officers of 11th division. Seeing as how there was an equal number of people, I nodded in agreement and shifted over towards Ichigo, Rukia and Renji who were sprinting behind me.

"Yeah, we'll cover more ground that way." I agreed. "Rukia, Renji, Ichigo. We'll head to the other side."

"Yosh!"

"Reimei." I glanced over at the call of my name and found it was Toushiro, side glancing me with worry evident in his eyes. I smiled a bit to reassure him.

"I'll be fine." I replied back. He eyed me a little longer before nodding his head. I turned my gaze back to the front. "Let's go!" With that, my team and I flashstepped to the other side. Finding a pathway that lead up to the tower was easy enough but climbing the entire thing was another story. The four of us continued to run along the path, swirling up higher and higher but we were still nowhere near the top.

"What is that?!" exclaimed Ichigo. Slowly coming into view was a massive structure of some sort, floating in mid air with what appeared to be long arms stretched out on either side. In the middle of it was a massive flame. Right at that moment, whatever that thing was released a fire ball from its mouth.

_**'It's one of Kusaka's arrancer lacky.'**_

I stared wide eye, "Eh? Her?!"

"Leave her to me!"

"Hey!"

"Howl, Zabimaru!" Jumping in front, Renji had managed to slice the incoming fire ball in half but the two rounded back and struck him from behind.

"Renji!"

As the smoke cleared, Renji was already in his bankai form and had created a shield using the large skeletone of his zanpakuto.

"Nothing's going to happen if you just stand there!" Whipping Zabimaru upwards, the long snake-like skeleton had grasped ledge of the top of the floating castle. "Use Zabimaru as a ladder and get up there!"

"Alright!"

"I'll meet you guys up there then!" I said before taking out Tsumetai Kaze. "Bankai! Aiiro Soten no Tsumetai Kaze!" Going into bankai, my outfit dissolved and was replaced by the blue kimono like outfit. Crouching down, I jumped upwards as feathery ice wings erupted from my back, propelling me upwards. A roar erupted in the air as I glanced up, a hollow was heading right towards me.

"Kamaitachi!" Swiping my sword, a strong gust of wind erupted, slicing the hollow in half. Just as it was about to dissolve, it reformed itself and looked as if it hasn't be harmed in any way. My eyes widened.

"What the-?!"

'_**It regenerated itself so quickly!'**_

'_Heads up kid!'_

Tearing my attention from the conversation, I found myself staring at about a dozen hollows all heading towards me. I stopped in mid flight and raised my sword.

"Daikamaitachi!"

Sending out a massive wind current proved to be useless as the hollows kept regenerating themselves. I gritted my teeth, clearly frustrated at how I'm suppose to get to the top if they kept blocking my path. What was more frustrating was that there was more every minute I wasted staying in the same spot. I was in a pinch and I didn't like it. Looking around, I tried to find some way to avoid the hollows and get to the top faster. I darted forward, rounding a corner where it was much clearer and started to head upwards again. Just when I was nearing the top, a sudden explosion erupted from beside me, causing me to fly back from the force. I caught myself just in time to see another one of the massive, floating monster except instead of fire for it's core, it was electricity.

"It's that other arrancer lacky." I seethed, readying my zanpakuto as another electric ball of energy headed towards my way.

"Kyouton: Tsubame Fubuki!" Ice spilled out from the tip of my sword and immediately became a hord of swallows. They rushed forward and collided with the electric energy, sending back a slight shockwave from the impact. The smoke from the attack was enough for me to quickly fly upwards. I almost gloated when I saw the edge of the top of the castle.

"I finally made it!"

No sooner had I touched down on the ground, took a quick glance around and seeing that half of Seireitei was on top of the platform all along, I was knocked off my feet by an energy blast. I tumbled towards the ground and doing a barrel roll, managed to get most of my bearings without falling over the edge.

'_Can I not take a break around here?!'_ I got up hastily, gripping my sword. Standing in front of me was a hollow that looked like a lizard about the size of a lion with two tails and the signature hollow mask.

"So you're the one that took a cheap shot at me...."I muttered under my breath, poising my sword towards the lizard. "Get out of my way! Kamaitachi!" I swiped my sword and the large gust of wind whirled towards the lizard. To my surprise, the lizard vanished and reappeared a few metres in front of me. It gave a roar, bearing it's teeth and fanned out the neck frill it had. I flashstepped away to put distance between myself and the hollow but it followed me, matching my speed.

"It's fast!" I jumped back again but it still followed me. Just when it was about to strike me head on, it disappeared from in front of me before I could raise my sword. I gasped as a force whipped me at my ribs, sending me hurdling towards a pile of debris. Once the smoke cleared, I saw the hollow standing not to far from me, observing me through its mask with its tails swishing about. It was then I realized that the two tails weren't **just** tails, they had heads with teeth.

'_What kind of monster is this...?!'_

'_An ugly one...'_

I clenched my teeth, forcing myself to stand despite the gash I had on my side now. I have had enough of this thing. Raising Tsumetai Kaze, I thrusted the sword deep into the ground in front of me. "Hyouton: Hyouro!" Ice started to form at the crack on the ground and traveled towards the hollow. Once it surrounded the monster, ice pillars shot up, trapping it. The hollow gave a roar of anger and I took my chance. Rushing forward I brought my sword up and slashed down on the hollow. Before my blade could reach, one of its tails shot out and caught my blade between its teeth.

"You!" I cursed and tried to rip free from its grasp. I twisted my zanpakuto and managed to aim the blade to slice the head of the tail. Blood gushed out on contact, staining my white haori. I was surprised that I actually managed to kill something without having itself regenerate. Suddenly, a red glow brought my attention back to the front of the hollow. While being trapped in the ice prison, it started to buil a cero and was just about ready to fire.

"Shimatta!" I flashstepped out of the way just as a red beam shot past my head. The only thing it did manage to get was the sleeve of my shinigami outfit. I tore the smoking fabric off as it was just hanging by a couple of threads and turned my attention back to the hollow.

"How interesting...." It suddenly hissed, taking me by surprise.

"So you can talk..." I said more to myself then the hollow. It swished its remaining tail, breaking away the ice pillars. It turned its body to face me, its neck frill slightly fanned out.

"You're powers are incredibly tempting to take, as I have not had a decent meal since coming to this world...." It reared up on its hind legs, snarling and hissing at the same time. "No wonder Aizen-sama wanted you to join him, such pity now that he has no use of you."

I gripped my zanpakuto harder; this hollow knew about my involvement with Aizen? I glared at the hollow though I couldn't see its eyes. I refused to talk to this thing.

'_Why don't we just finish this pathetic reptile already?'_

_**'Yes, I feel that Toushiro and Ichigo are just about ready to finish off Kusaka. Perhaps that might explain why you easily sliced its tail off without it regenerating again. We can get rid of him for good now.'**_

'_I see, then I'll do just that!' _I thought, smirking at the news. I reached up and pulled out Tsukuyomi with my free hand.

"Bankai, Akai Tsukuyomi!" Once again, my outfit dissolved into a much darker coloured kimono. Raising both swords, I overlapped them with each other. "Prepare to sent back to where you came from, hollow. Hyouton: Kokuryuu Boufuusetsu!!" A stream of ice and dark energy flowed out from both of my zanpakuto, merging together to form the black ice dragon. The hollow in front of me turned its gaze from the dragon flying upwards to me, glaring furiously.

"You bastard!" It hissed. "Do you think a mere ice dragon can defeat me?!" Opening its mouth, a cero started to gather itself, growing larger by the second. Just then, the large ice dragon appeared in front of me and headed straight towards the hollow. Giving out a roar, the ice dragon collided head on with the hollow, causing it to release the cero attack towards me before being encased by ice. I managed to barrel roll out of the way just in time. I moaned inwardly to myself as I got up from the ground, my body aching all over the place and brushed a few bits of dirt off of my clothes.

"Is it over...?" I asked myself, turning my gaze towards the direction of the massive pile of black ice. It remained lifeless as the ice started to melt, steaming off black mist as it did. I sighed in relief; it was finally dead.

'_I wonder if Toushiro has finished his battle...'_ I glanced over to the ice tower situated in the middle of platform. Squinting my eyes, I could see Toushiro's ice dragon attacking Kusaka's dragon form. '_Looks like he can manage on his own....' _I closed my eyes, a smile creeping on my lips.

"Yogata..." I turned away and slowly started to walk off in a random direction, hoping I would run into someone.

'_**REIMEI LOOK OUT!**_' I whipped my head around and caught a glimpse at a rising dark aura from the the pile of melting ice.

"_You think you can defeat me?! Shinigami?!" _a hissing voice snarled loudly before the mysterious dark aura flew head on towards me at great speed.

"What the-?!"

Too shocked to move, I soon found myself engulfed in darkness.

**Oh noooooo!! What happens?? :O Well, the hollow did another cheap move on Reimei. It possessed her D: What will happen?? R&R! XD**


	7. Hollow Within

**Vietvn: Alright! Chapter Seven at last, so pathetic of me to take this long LOL Umm...Yeah...Nothing really much to say....LOL**

**Chapter Seven: Hollow Within**

_Where am I....?_

_I couldn't see anything; the place was pitch black as I looked around me. There was absolutely nothing alive as far as I could see. I glanced down to my feet, wondering what it was that supported me. The ground around me was covered in a thin layer of snow that had a dull grey hue to it and that was just about everything in this empty void. _

_I was completely and utterly confused. I still had Tsumetai Kaze and Tsukuyomi in my hands but other than that, I had no idea where I was._

_"Where am I?" I finally voiced my thoughts._

_"Yo...." A voice echoed back in reply. I turned my head to the side; there was no one. Am I hearing things now?_

_"Over here..." It said again and I turned once again, finally catching a glimpse of a dark shadow not too far away from where I was standing. Whatever that thing was, it was crouching low to the ground about the size of a lion. I narrowed my eyes and saw claws that looked lizard-like. It was then that I remembered my fight with the lizard hollow. I gripped my sword, gritting my teeth and glaring at the shadow in front of me._

_"You took another cheap shot didn't you, you bastard." I seethed out. It chuckled lowly to itself but gradually it grew into an all out laugh. I was really getting angry with this thing. In all my effort to defeat it, it was still alive and stuck with me. I took a stance and prepared to charge for it, having a resolve in my mind that I will get rid of this thing once and for all. _

_"Go to hell!" I shouted and ran towards it, both my swords raised. All it did was continue laughing to itself which fueled my anger more. It won't be laughing for long as soon as I get my sword through its head. As I neared the black mass, something started to happen. I momentarily stopped my charge and watched the black mass swirl out of its lizard like form and began to take on a different shape. It grew in height and slowly materializes as a silhouette of a person. Soon, the black mass grew features. Once it was finished, I found myself stepping back out of fear and shock. I couldn't believe my eyes._

_"What....are you...?!" I choked out. Staring back at me was....me. The black mass had materialized itself into a mirror image of myself except this 'me' had snow white hair, chalk coloured skin and wore my bankai outfit all white, blending in with its skin tone. Another major difference was its eyes; the white scleras of the eyes were pitch black with the iris being a vibrant shade of violet._

_"I am you...." It smirked._

_I shook my head, taking another step back. "No..It's some sick illusion that you're doing, hollow!"_

_The smirk on her face grew, agitating me more. "I am another part of your existence per say...And I can tell you now that we're in the realm of your zanpakuto, Tsumetai Kaze."_

_I looked around once more; this was nothing like Tsumetai Kaze's realm. There was no lone mountain and snow was no longer falling. The skies were vacant of clouds; it was just black. This can't be the same place I was in a few moments ago._

_"It's because I'm here....I am you which means I am Tsumetai Kaze now." I whipped my gaze back to the hollow, my eyes narrowing dangerously at it. All she did was continue to smirk maliciously, enjoying every minute of watching me act like a lost puppy. _

_"Lies..." I said._

_She chuckled to herself. "Now why would I be lying when I have this as proof?" With the flick of her wrist, a sword materialized into her hand. My eyes further widened in shock; it was exactly the same as Tsumetai Kaze but the only difference was that it was almost completely white. The only part that wasn't was the handle of the katana. What was supposed to be a pastel blue was now pastel lavender._

_I furrowed my gaze. What was going on here?_

_"Think what you will my dear, but we will save our encounter for another day."_

_I blinked, her statement catching me off guard. "What?"_

_"I'm saying I'm letting you off the hook for now because you're too injured to fight me. You'll put too much strain on your body on the outside world. Until then, you're no longer in definite control of your mind..."_

_My eyes widened considerably at these words; no longer in definite control of my mind?! What the hell was that supposed to mean?! Before I had time to retort, the ground beneath suddenly vanished and I found myself being sucked into the black, empty void beneath me. I glanced back up one last time in hopes of finding something to grab onto but there was nothing. I only met the gaze of my hollow self who stood in the air above me, grinning at me and was unaffected by the pulling force that was dragging me down. Once again, I was soon swallowed in darkness._

Shooting my eyes open, the first thing I saw was white. Great, was I in another realm except this time it's entirely white? I turned my head to the side and noticed a night stand beside me and not too far was a door. I was in a room. A white room; which means I must be in the fourth division. So was it all a dream? No, it felt too real to be a dream. I slowly tried to sit up, noticing the stiffness on my abdomen. I looked through the thin kimono robe; white bandages were tightly wrapped around my mid section. Slowly and steadily, I managed to prop myself up and rested my back against the headboard.

I sighed; I must've passed out after facing that hollow and someone must've found me. The door creaked open and in stepped Unohana-taichou herself. She smiled warmly when I turned my head towards her.

"I see you're awake, Tanaka-taichou."

I nodded. "How long have I been out for?"

"Not long, just a day."

I sighed, relieved.

"After a thorough check-up, you are allowed to leave but I advise you to take it easy for the next couple days." The soft-spoken captain glanced down at a clipboard at the end of my bed, scanning through the sheets of papers that were on it before placing it back. She glanced at me one more time, giving me a soft smile.

"He's been worried about ever since you were admitted to division four."

It took me a while to figure out who she meant. At that, I let my mouth drop a bit in realization. My cheeks slightly heated for a moment in embarassment. "Oh...Well, I hope he's not stressing about it too much then... I'm not in serious danger am I?"

Unohana chuckled to herself and shook her head. "It's very sweet of him to care so much for someone. It's a rare sight also. I'm glad you're someone special in his heart."

I let a smile creep onto my lips. Yeah, I'll never admit it out loud but I was pretty lucky to have someone like him to lean on. Which reminds me; I wonder how everything was resolved between him and Kusaka. Unohana excused herself afterwards as a nurse from the division came in to do my check up. It didn't take long for me to be approved and I was out of the division before I could ask where my clothes are. Walking out of the division, I stood for a moment to ponder where I was going to go. Nearly everywhere there was some kind of construction work going on due to Kusaka's attack on Seireitei. I didn't want to head back to the tenth division yet. I needed some thinking to do, especially after what happened.

As I began to walk, I decided to try something. "_Tsumetai Kaze....Are you there..?"_

There was no melodic voice to answer my question. Furthermore, my head felt strangely empty. Even though I have Tsumetai Kaze's katana, she wasn't present.

"_She's not here kid."_

I nearly did a double take. How was it that I was able to hear the dragon and not the phoenix? "_Tsukuyomi? Why can you hear me and I can still here you?"_

"_It's complicated."_

_"In what sense?"_

"_In a way, I didn't gain an existence from your being. How else would you wind up with TWO zanpakutos? Birdie who's gone missing is like any normal zanpakutos, thus making her your main zanpakuto."_

_"Really....?Wow, so it really was my bad luck that I came across you?" _I joked.

"_Hey! You're lucky I'm actually here."_

"_I was just joking."_

It was true, in a way, though I never really thought about it; Tsukuyomi was a zanpakuto I just so happened to come across one day. What looked like a normal, black katana at first glance turned out to be something much more than I expected. Another voice started echoing in the depths of my head that day and eventually, I had learned the name of the blade and that was how Tsukuyomi came to be. He was really mysterious and there's a lot I've yet to learn. Snapping from my reverie, I found that my feet had led me to an opening; a training ground. It was completely deserted which gave the surrounding area peace. It surprised me that it seemed untouched from the incident. A perfect place to ponder I guess.

I moved towards one of the large oak trees and sat at the base. The branches concealed me from the sun that was still high in the sky. Leaning back, I rested my back on the trunk and started to let my mind wander. How am I going to deal with this...hollow inside me now? Embarassing as it was, she might be a problem.

What did she mean by I'm not in definite control of my mind anymore? Can she take over my body at any given moment? If so, then I need to get her out before she could try. Now the only thing was who in their right mind would know how to do that. A rustle of grass crunching under footsteps alerted me and I glanced up. A small smile crept its way up to my lips as I saw who was approaching.

"Konbanwa, Shiro-kun...." I greeted. He merely closed his eyes and shook his head slightly, smiling a bit at the nickname. The tenth captain made his way over to my side and took a seat next to me. We sat in silence for a while; I waited patiently for him to say something while he must've been in deep thoughts. Just when I couldn't take the silence anymore, he spoke.

"Are you...feeling well?" Toushiro asked gently, glancing at me from the corner of his eyes. I could really tell he was worried about me as it was visible through his eyes. I smiled, assuring him and nodded.

"Of course I am, I wouldn't be out here if I wasn't."

He scoffed. "Knowing you, you would've snuck out of division four as soon as you woke up despite how serious your injuries are."

I smiled smugly this time, "Guess you know me too well then..."

He chuckled softly before his smile slowly slipped off his face, replacing it with a slight frown and a serious look to go with it. I observed him, puzzled at how quick of a mood change that was.

"You're not...mad at me are you?" His voice was soft, almost to the point I had to strain my hearing. I blinked skeptically at him, wondering if I heard right.

"Mad? At you?" I repeated to make sure. Toushiro nodded slightly and eyed me carefully with his shocking aqua green eyes. I glanced away from his gaze, pondering to myself. He must be referring to how he left Soul Society and the Gotei 13 without telling a word as to what he was intending to do. Also, that could tie into our encounter during that time in Karakura Town.

"I...**was** mad at you...but not anymore." I said carefully. I turned my gaze to him; he was beginning to look guilty. "I mean..! Yes, I was upset that you left me...without telling me a word...and that you tried to take matters in your own hand....and you were nearly ordered to be executed...."

I paused, sighing a bit. There were a lot of things Toushiro made me feel upset about during that period of time now that I listed them. What mattered most though was that he was here and I've already forgiven him. Now I just needed to tell him verbally.

"Reimei, I'm so sorry....For leaving you so suddenly like that. I didn't want you to get hurt and this was something from my past and had nothing to do with you. In the end of it all, I was actually hurting you and many of my friends either way. I'm sorry..." He lowered his head slightly, keeping his gaze away from mine. My eyes softened slightly at his antic; there he goes again, taking all the blame for himself. If anything I needed to apologize to him for nearly hurting him during our little fight. I shouldn't even have any thoughts of doubting him when all of it started. I shifted over to him closer; if I can't express my feelings in words than I'll just have to show it. Stretching my arms out, I wrapped them around his shoulders and pulled him into an embrace.

That clearly caught him off guard as I heard a slight gasp escape from him. I rested my head on his shoulders, closing my eyes and taking in his scent.

"Baka....You don't have to apologize. You just thought it was for the best. I should be apologizing; I got mad at you and doubted you when I shouldn't have....I'm just glad you worked out everything and you're alright."

Toushiro shifted his position and soon I was the one being hugged. It took me a moment to realize that I now had my head resting against his chest with his arms tightly wrapped around my waist. I smiled and moved to wrap my arms around his neck, drawing him closer.

"Thank you...For being there till the end." I heard him say softly as he buried his face at the side of my neck. I closed my eyes contently as we stayed in each other's arms.

"Don't worry; I'll always stay with you...."

I didn't know how long we stayed like that but I decided to break the hug, even though I didn't really want to. I wanted to go somewhere and lounge around a bit or maybe just talk with Toushiro here for a while; just relax. I opened my eyes once again but soon regretted.

'_What...?'_

From the corner of my right eye, a black, mist-like cloud started to creep into my line of vision. I nearly gasped out loud; I didn't want to alert Toushiro. What was happening? It's as if I'm slowly going blind. I closed my eyes once again, hoping it would disappear. When I opened them again, there was no black mist anywhere. I narrowed my eyes, having an immediate suspicion as to what might have caused this abnormal thing to happen.

The hollow inside me.

**Wahhh! So she has her own inner hollow now. Joy! But of course, she's not just gonna get rid of it THAT easily with a few...**_**obstacles**_** and **_**misfortunate**_** events on the way....wahahahaha! R&R please! Thank you my readers! ^^**


	8. Finding A Solution

**Vietvn: Ummm....LOL Gosh, it's been a while since I updated (once again) Part of it was half of a writer's block and then the other half I was off doing other things away from the computer since cousin's from BC came over. Sooo my deepest apologies to all my readers but here's chapter eight!**

**Chapter Eight: Finding A Solution**

After the small incident in the training area, Toushiro and I decided to head to the sweet shops to eat Kakigōri. No other incident had occurred but I was still being cautious. Who knows what other incidents would happen; she might actually try to control my actions next time. I had to be more careful but at the same time, I can't raise any suspicions. Especially from Toushiro, he has enough things to worry about. Finishing up our kakigori, Toushiro offered to drop me off at the fifth division while he was on his way to his division. The walk there was silent but it was comforting, it almost made me forget about my problem. Almost.

We stopped at the entrance to the fifth division, Toushiro turned towards me. "Ja, I'll see you some other time. Call me if you want, I don't mind."

I giggled. "You sure? You're always a workaholic, I don't want to be bothering you."

"I don't mind if it's you..." He murmured, stepping a little closer to me to the point where our bodies are almost touching. I fought to keep the heat from rising to my face, all in the while trying to keep eye contact with Toushiro but it was hard to do so; his gaze was so piercing especially with his eye colour. Strong pair of arms snaked around my waist, pulling me even closer and on instinct my own arms wrapped around his neck. In no time, the space in between us closed off as Toushiro leaned down and placed his lips on mine. I tilted my head up slightly, pushing back against his lips as my hands entangled themselves in his hair.

The kiss itself was sweet and passionate, usually involving tongues, courtesy of Toushiro. He was always the one to initiate them, almost as if he enjoyed it whether he wanted to admit it or not and when it came to said tongue wars, he always manage to win. He was aware of that and was proudly smug about it. I however, had resented that fact which amuses him even more. A sudden urge to be daring came over me suddenly and as if my body had suddenly developed a mind of its own, I felt my tongue run along his lower lip before I could register what I just did. Sure I've done it maybe once but now I felt strangely possessive. Nevertheless, Toushiro granted me entrance though I could tell he was slightly surprise that I took the initiative this time.

My tongue slipped in and mingled with his in a battle for dominance. I heard him let out a low moan and I had to smirk. He must've felt it because he started to get a little more aggressive, moving forward slightly and backing me up against the wall of my division and having one of my wrist pinned by his hand. Just when I thought I was going to win for once, my control was slowly slipping away. I suddenly growled lowly, a little annoyed and became equally aggressive and soon it turned into one heated kiss before I pulled away, gasping. Since when did I ever get that bold?

"Aggressive are we?" Toushiro asked, his voice husky. I kept a steady gaze on him before turning away slightly with a small huff, trying to hide how dazed I felt. However that left my neck exposed, allowing Toushiro to lean in, his hot breath sending shivers down my spine.

"You're lucky no ones around here and its outside," He whispered near my ear. I bit my lower lip. "If it was somewhere inside...maybe your room..." He chuckled to himself, "That's another story..."

The heat immediately increased on my on cheeks and my eyes widened in shock, thoughts bubbling up in my mind about what he said. I suddenly felt hot. Maybe it was the shinigami robes...? I hope so...His grip on my wrist suddenly loosened and I turned my gaze to see him pull away, straightening his shinigami robes before tucking his arms into his sleeves. He turned his gaze towards me, a smirk visibly forming on his lips.

"I'm joking...Never knew your mind could fall into the gutters too, what a surprise Reimei. Especially coming from someone like you..."

My mouth fell open and I gaped at him like a fish out waters. Flushing more from embarrassment, I scowled at him.

"T-Toushiro! You!"

"Ja ne, Reimei....Ja ne..." He chuckled again, sauntering away casually as if nothing happened.

'_Jerk..._' I scowled once more as I turned to head into my division. I had my own pile of paperwork to take care of myself. Without Hinamori around, most of the work in the office was done by me. I reached my office and slid open the traditional paper doors and sighed once my eyes landed on my desk. About three tall stacks of paperwork had magically appeared while I was gone, waiting for me to be looked over and signed. Guess it's gonna be a while before I get to bed tonight and immediately set to work.

Eventually, I found myself coming to the last scrap of paperwork late into the night. I signed hurriedly, wanting to get it over with and tossed it into the pile with the rest of the finished work. I sighed, cracking my fingers and stretching my arms. I was finally done; I glanced at the clock, it was near midnight. That took longer than I thought. Pushing myself up from my seat behind my desk, I made my way around it and headed straight out the office door, only having the thought of sleeping in my mind.

I immediately headed to my room, tossed aside the captain's haori and changed into my sleeping kimono robe. I collapsed onto my futon bed, sighing in satisfaction as the soft surface drew me in. Sleep instantly took over me and I didn't put up a fight, surrendering to darkness.

_I felt my eyes open, wondering if I was actually waking up to morning or if I landed myself in a dream. I swear I was exhausted to the point I felt like I had passed out as soon as I hit the bed. It must be the latter..._

_My gaze drifted around my surrounding; a black sky and thin snow on the ground. Great, I was back here...._

_"Not happy to see me after what I did for you? I'm hurt..."_

_I scowled, recognizing the voice. Even if it was similar to mine, it was slightly distorted. I turned to face the chalk pale mirror self. She held a smug smirk on her face, her dark eyes gleaming with amusement as she propped one hand to rest on her hip._

_"I don't remember asking any favors from the likes of you..." I snarled. She just chuckled._

_"How could you forget that make-out you had with your dearest....Hitsugaya Toushiro was it? I turned it up a notch for you and he seemed to have enjoyed it..."_

_My eyes widened; so it was her. I was seriously beginning to wonder when I'd get so bold. Anger boiled inside of me at the thought of her controlling my actions, especially when it involved Toushiro._

_"So you're the one behind it...." I seethed._

_"You were never bold to begin with;" She continued to criticize. "Why let him pleasure you when he gets none in return?"_

_I snapped at that point and viciously charged at her without thinking. Just when I was about to tackle her, she dispersed into a dark mist and reappeared behind me, letting me crash to the ground._

_"Temper, Rei-chan..." She said. "It shows you have no control and no instincts..."_

_I got onto my feet, glaring daggers at her and clenching my fist to the point my nails almost dug into my palm. If only I had Tsukuyomi with me, I would've skewered her before she could realize it. Who was she to tell me that I have no instincts?! My instincts right now are telling me to kill her._

_"Soon, I'll eventually control everything; your mind, body and soul...."_

_"Not if I can help it..." I spat._

_The hollow me chuckled. "There's only one king or in this case, queen to rule while the other is the horse that carries that queen." Her grin finally slipped from her face as her expression turned into that of malice. "I intend to be that queen; that is if you can somehow miraculously find a way to stop me."_

_"It's not that I can; I __**will**__ find a way."_

_"We shall see...."_

My eyes snapped open and once it did, I forced it shut again as the sunlight that greeted me nearly blinded me. I groaned, raising an arm to cover my eyes. I shouldn't complain that it was morning and I was awake; that meant I wouldn't have to see _her_ again, plaguing my dreams but then again, mornings are still something I loathe. Yawning, I finally sat up in my futon, not really caring that my hair was disheveled. I would have to wash it anyways. Throwing the covers off, I sauntered into my bathroom to wash up.

I stood over the sink and turned on the cold water. It streamed out of the faucet and I cupped my hands under it, bringing the water up and splashing it onto my face.

_"So kid, how you gonna go about fixing this problem?"_

I sighed, splashing another handful of water onto my face before shutting the water off. I grabbed my towel and dried my face.

'_I don't know...I need to find someone who can get rid of it and fast. Who knows what she might try to pull off.'_

_"__Well, any possible people that might know of such stuff?"_

_'Hmm....There's...Kurotsuchi-taicho who specializes in the science of shinigami....Okay, on second thought no. He might try to dissect me or something...'_

_"__What about that weird candy shop owner, he used to be part of that kind of stuff in the Gotei 13." _

I nearly smacked my head; of course! Kisuke should know something. Why didn't I think of him? So now I knew who to ask for help but he's all the way in the real world. How am I supposed to reach him without sneaking to the real world? I'd get in more trouble if I do that and if I asked the sou-taicho, what reason would I have without causing any suspicions to arise? I huffed; I need a shower...

I got out of the shower, leisurely drying my hair with a towel. I was sure taking my time in getting dressed for the day. I still had my mind occupied with a way to get to the real world to see Kisuke. There were really only two options but obviously one of them wouldn't get me anywhere. If I didn't find any alternatives than I simply have no choice; I would have to sneak my way to the real world. Eventually, I got dressed in my uniform before finally leaving the comfort of my room, disposing the towel in a basket along the way to be washed. I came to the entrance of my office and slid the door open. I nearly groaned out loud as I saw two more stacks of paperwork for me to deal with, sitting neatly on my desk as if it belonged there.

I was definitely in no mood to do paperwork as I trudged over to my desk and sat on the chair behind it. Picking up the pen, I grabbed a sheet and placed it down in front of me, scanning its words briefly before losing interest and just signing the bottom for approval. It went on for maybe five sheets more until I gave up all together and just resorted to twirling the pen in my fingers and staring at it. I continued to twirl my pen in my fingers for at least five minutes, leaning my cheek against my hand until I was interrupted. The ringing of my phone startled me and the pen cluttered onto my desk abruptly. I breathed out as the ringing continued beside me, composing myself before picking up the receiver.

"Moshi moshi?" I said boredly.

"You sound like you're having fun." chuckled a deep voice on the other end. I perked a bit, knowing well who the voice belonged too but still sighed as I sat at my desk, picking up the pen and twirling it in my fingers again.

"Yeah, **loads** of fun with paperwork...." I replied.

"You're not even doing it are you?" I could practically hear the amusement in his voice.

"Of course I am Toushiro....What makes you say that?" I said, smirking a bit.

He chuckled, "I know you too well, don't deny it. You're definitely slacking off."

"And you aren't doing the same?" I challenged, knowing well that he knew I meant him calling me at the moment.

"I'm taking a break to call you." I smiled slightly; feeling warm that he would spend his break time to call me. My smile slowly slipped off my face when a thought came into mind; maybe I could sneak an 'innocent' question to Toushiro. Hopefully, he wouldn't catch on that something's up.

"Ne, Toushiro..." I started off, slow and calmly.

"Hm?"

"Say...Do you think the sou-taicho might assign a mission to the real world any time soon?" I asked as casually as I could. If there was at least some hope of that happening, then maybe I can get my chance to talk to Kisuke without resorting to sneaking off by myself. There was a pause, and I anxiously waited for his answer.

"Hm...I'm..not sure. There is a chance, something that might concern Aizen's plan to make another Oken. He is targeting Karakura Town after all."

I nodded to myself; he was right, there might be that chance. I kept that in mind and prayed that it will actually happen.

"Why? Anxious to get out of the office that badly?" came Toushiro's voice again, a hint of amusement clearly in his voice.

"I'm looking for any ways to escape my office." I replied. Half of it was true; I did want to get out of my office. Being cooped up in here and doing nothing but paperwork was bound to drive me insane. If the hollow inside me wouldn't do it first, then it's bound to be the paperwork.

"We can go out later for dinner tonight, if you want." Toushiro offered. I considered the idea and then thought why not. I didn't feel like cooking tonight. I opened my mouth to speak but then hesitated. My stomach churned with a nagging feeling and it wasn't the fact that I had grown hungry. Or maybe it was hunger...?

"Yeah, okay. I'll meet you later then." I said at last. "Now, I think we should get back to work or else Matsumoto would say you're slacking off which gives her an excuse to do so as well."

A chuckle came from the other end, "Yeah, you're right. I'll see you later. Bye."

"See ya..."

With that, I hung up. Now to pass time....I glanced up at the stacks of paperwork that were slowly gathering dust and narrowed my eyes. I didn't want to but I might as well. Seeing as how there was nothing I could come up with to pass time, I reached over to the stack and grabbed a sheet.

Surprisingly, I managed to get through half of the paperwork by the time I had to go to meet Toushiro for dinner. I got up groggily, stretched and finally began to make my way out of my office. As soon as I came out of my division, I could already see Toushiro leisurely making his way towards me from his own. I smiled when he came to a stop beside me.

"So where are we eating tonight?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Not sure, but we'll see what comes to mind when we get there."

I chuckled. "Alright. Let's go then..."

We began walking towards the area in Soul Society where most of the restaurants and bars were in comfortable silence, side by side. We eventually came to a small restaurant. I ordered beef ramen because for some reason I was craving it. As we waited for our food, we conversed in small talks, mostly about paperwork. I asked him where he got all the paperwork from and he answered from at least three other divisions. I had to shake my head; what a true workaholic. Our food eventually came and we ate peacefully; well for the most part. It wasn't until loud laughter erupted from the corner of the open bar that was in the restaurant. I glanced up from eating and noticed a number of 11th division shinigami and a couple familiar faces; Ikakku, Renji, surprisingly Hisagi and even more surprising was a certain busty lieutenant.

I glanced back to Toushiro and noticed visibly that he was twitching with annoyance, not bothering to look up from his finished dish.

"Don't tell me I just heard Matsumoto...." He muttered to himself...or was it to me? I wasn't sure but I offered an answer nonetheless.

"Possibly...." I answered carefully. Another eruption of laughter; it was clear that they were having some sort of drinking contest over there and Matsumoto had joined in, her laugh was easily recognizable.

Toushiro glared out of the corner of his eyes towards the corner, muttering lowly under his breath that Matsumoto was supposed to stay at the office and work on her half of the paperwork while he was out.

"I'll be back..." was the last thing I heard from him before he stood and shunpoe'd from my sight, only to reappear behind Matsumoto who at that moment, turned around and notice her considerably shorter captain glaring up at her with his arms crossed into his sleeves. I watched in silent amusement as a couple words were shared between the lieutenant and her captain. Matsumoto looking flustered that Toushiro was standing right in front of her while trying to cover up the numerous sake bottles behind her and Toushiro looking like he was just about to snap at any moment. Matsumoto shared a couple of more words with Toushiro before glancing around the restaurant until her eyes landed on me. She waved enthusiastically and I returned the wave with a small nervous one.

"MATSUMOTO GET BACK TO THE OFFICE NOW!!"

"I'M ON IT TAICHO!!" She yelped and scurried off out of the restaurant to avoid her captain. Only when she passed by me did I notice a couple sake bottles hidden in her sleeves. I smiled; shaking my head as I finished off the last of my soup just as Toushiro came back, still muttering under his breath.

"Shall we get going? I'm done." I said. Toushiro glanced at me with his piercing turquoise eyes and nodded his head.

"Sure.."

We paid for our meal (or more like we fought to pay for our meals; we ended up agreeing to split the payment) and started to walk back to my division. Upon arriving at the front, I turned to Toushiro.

"Thanks for taking me out to dinner." I said with a smile.

He shrugged as if it was nothing. "Your welcome."

I stepped up and leaned closer to his face. My eyes were just half way closed as was his, the gap between us were just mere millimetres away when suddenly I felt as if a jolt of electricity just went through my mind and the familiar black mist appeared right at the corner of my eyes but as quickly as it came, it vanished before I could determine if I really had seen it. My eyes immediately shot open, and before Toushiro could question my sudden change. I angled my head to kiss him on the cheek and hasitly said bye to him. I disappeared behind my division door and let a deep breath escape me. I placed a hand over my heart; I felt it beating rapidly against my chest.

'_Don't tell me it was her again....' _I thought bitterly. She must've attempted to take control of my conscious or somthing. I hadn't realized she could be that much of a threat and now that I think about it, she usually only shows up around Toushiro. Damn her...Guess I need to distance myself from Toushiro a bit until I figure a way to get rid of her for good. I shut my eyes, leaning back against the wooden gates of the division.

I could only hope Yamamoto would assign a mission to the real world, if not.....

I just might have to play traitor again...

**OOOUUU! Will Reimei actually resort to sneaking off again without telling Toushiro?? :O Or will she get a break and actually get a mission to the real world? But who knows, the hollow inside her is intending to win her control over her body and that might threaten her relationship with Toushiro! :O So will she get rid of her hollow self in time or will something drastic happen....? R&R please and Thank you! Love all of my reviewers! ^^**


	9. Getting the Break

**Vietvn: HOLY CRAPP, it's been how long since I updated?? *beats self up* You all probably think I got kidnapped or died of some sort of disease now huh? I know, I know, I'm sorry Just that I was on a bit of a writer's block AND my parents are 'banning' my computer time cuz my vision just got worst from being on the computer too long XP Poopy. And school is starting soon! D: NOOOOOOO~~~~ Anyways, yeah, get reading :D**

**Chapter Nine: Getting the Break**

The night after the dinner, I went to sleep and lo and behold, I met up with _her_ again. Slowly this whole meeting with my inner hollow every time I sleep at night has become a routine. I didn't like it; most of the time when I'm conversing with her, we'd be throwing insults at each other back and forth with me trying to get at her throat. What also became noticeable was the hours of sleep I've begin to lose. That night was probably the first night I actually woke up around 3 in the morning. Needless to say, I was less than happy. Forcing myself to go back to sleep afterwards was only effective till 5am and that was when I gave up trying.

I got dressed for the day a little earlier than usual and headed to my office, finding yet two new stacks of paperwork on my desk. How and where it came from was something I wondered. I dragged my feet towards my desk and slumped into the seat, rubbing my temple slightly from the headache I was getting for being up so early. I heaved a sigh and eyed the paperwork in front of me. Eventually, I brought myself to start working through the stacks slowly, still not having the energy from the lack of sleep.

Two hours into working and I was nearly done most of the paperwork when something black caught my eye. I flinched, thinking it was the black mist I was so used to seeing now but it turns out to be a fluttering hell butterfly, making its way towards me. I placed my pen down and offered a finger for it to perch on.

_**Attention all captains of the Gotei 13; you are to report immediately to the first division for a meeting. All details of the meeting will be covered once everyone has arrived.**_

After relaying its message, the butterfly took off again and disappeared out of my sight. I stifled a yawn and stood from my seat, stretching my arms. I wonder if someone higher up there loves me enough to cut me some slack and give me a mission to the real world. Straightening myself, I made my way out of the office and into the streets of Seireitei, heading towards the direction of the first division. If the meeting wasn't about going to the real world for some mission, then I'll just have to start planning how to sneak to the real world but I'm hoping I won't have to resort to that....

Without knowing, I had made it to the first division entrance. I made my way into the division, down the halls and towards the large meeting room. Two shinigami guards were standing on either side of the large double doors and they straightened their posture when they saw me approach.

"Tanaka-taicho." They saluted. I nodded back in acknowledgement and pushed open the large doors. I was surprised to see most of the captains there already but some were still missing; the ones that were present were conversing amongst themselves or standing off to the side. Byakuya was there, calmly standing off to the side. Ukitake was conversing with Kyoraku and surprisingly Toushiro. Other than that, no one seems to have showed up yet. Setting my eyes on the trio, I began to make my way towards them. Ukitake was the first to notice my presence as he turned from his conversation to greet me.

"Tanaka-san, I see you've also made it early."

I nodded. "Ukitake-taicho, Kyoraku-taicho, Toushiro."

Toushiro had moved to stand beside me as I greeted everyone. I smiled lightly at him and turned back to the older captains. "Do you know what the meeting might be about?"

"Hmm...Not really sure but it might have something to do with Aizen."

I nodded my head again. Unconsciously, I was getting more and more anxious. I wanted to know if there's a chance I can go to the real world. I really didn't want to resort to sneaking out on my own again. My eyes wandered to Toushiro before shifting back to staring straight ahead. I didn't want to hurt Toushiro again. I would be a hypocrite if I did such things but I know, that as long as things go my way, I can get this fixed before anyone can notice anything was wrong to begin with.

"Reimei."

"Huh?" I turned my head to find brilliant sea-green eyes staring at me intently. I blinked. "Something wrong Toushiro?"

"You're awfully quiet today...."

"Oh..? Guess I'm just tired, I didn't really sleep that well last night..." I said as casually as I could. Toushiro furrowed his eyebrows and a worried expression immediately took over his face. I noticed at once and assured him with a smile.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine..."

Not long after I said that, the rest of the captains had showed up and were ready to begin the meeting. Yamamoto-soutaicho had also appeared and the captains all formed two lines and took their respective spots.

"The captain's meeting will now be in session." announced the booming voice of the soutaicho. "You have all been gathered here today to discuss an important matter. Aizen is on the move again..."

At this, murmurs between captains erupted but was quickly silenced by Yamamoto. "Arrancers and Espadas have started showing up in Karakura town. They have not caused any damage or harm as of yet but it is a dangerous situation for them to be in a place where there are many civilian's lives in harms way." He paused to scan around the room. I tried not to shuffle my feet in anxiety; I know exactly where this is leading to and I could only keep my fingers crossed that he'll pick me.

"I will be sending a squad of shinigamis from the Gotei 13 to stand post in the human world. They will act as defenses to the town if anything were to happen and will also monitor the action of the Arrancers and Espadas." His eyes scanned the room once and within that one second of scanning, he made up his mind.

"Hitsugaya-taicho,"

"Hai."

"You will be one of the captains to lead a squad, finally...."

I had to resist the urge from bouncing up and down like a child, screaming, 'Pick me! Pick me!' I was hoping on the outside I looked calm because on the inside, it was definitely another story....

"Tanaka-taicho..."

I snapped my head towards the captain-commander, startled. "H-Hai!"

"You will be the second captain to lead a squad alongside Hitsugaya-taicho. I'm sure you two are formidable in companionship so I expect you will not fail me..."

My face suddenly grew hot in embarrassment, knowing full well what he meant by 'formidable companionship'. Unconsciously I lowered my gaze to the ground; stupid old man just had to say that in front of all the captains of the Gotei 13. Glancing at Toushiro quickly, I noticed he averted his gaze to the ground too, a faint pink colouring his cheeks though most was hidden by shadow.

"Hai..." we both muttered. I heard a few soft chuckles, no doubt coming from Ukitake and Kyoraku.

"Choose your shinigami squad wisely. This meeting is now adjourned, dismiss!"

All the captains soon started to file out of the meeting room. I was also amongst the crowd of captains that were heading towards the exit when I sensed Toushiro fall into steps beside me.

"So, have anyone in mind that you might want to take along the mission?"

I glanced at him first before looking off to ponder. Hmm...Who would I choose? Rukia was already in the real world; Matsumoto no doubt would tag along, Renji maybe? My own lieutenant can't come because well, she still needs rest.

I heaved a sigh. "Well, I guess I might ask Renji since he's been to the real world a couple times already. Maybe Ikakku and Yumichika...."

"So the usual..." concluded Toushiro.

"Yeah...the usual..." I said, shrugging. "When do we leave?"

"Immediately. I'll meet you at the Senkai Gates."

I nodded. "Alright then, later." I flashed stepped off towards the 11th division to inform Ikakku and Yumichika about the mission. It wasn't hard finding them and they were more than eager to get out of their division to get in on the action. Talking to them was fairly quick and soon I found myself at the 6th division to inform Renji. I couldn't find the red head anywhere so I had to resort to talking to Byakuya. That didn't take too long either. In no time, I had headed back to my division, grabbed what I needed (gikon pills that I still had and a memory replacer) and headed towards the Senkai Gates.

Already I could see everyone waiting eagerly to go. Everyone was present except Renji.

"Reimei-chan!!" sang Matsumoto as she bounded over to me from her place beside Toushiro. "Aren't you excited?! We finally get to go out instead of being trapped in the office all day doing paperwork!"

"More like **I'm** the one doing the paperwork instead of you, Matsumoto." scowled Toushiro, arms crossed into his sleeves with a glare directed towards his lieutenant. The taller strawberry blonde woman laughed nervously and scratched her cheek.

"You know what I mean taicho...I really appreciate your hard work!"

"Mmhmm...." Toushiro muttered, still looking annoyed but decided to let it slide.

"Hey there's Renji!" Matsumoto suddenly exclaimed. Turning slightly, I caught the red head lieutenant jogging quickly towards us.

"Sorry I'm late! Taicho informed me when I got back from training..." he panted as he reached us.

"C'mon! Let's go already!" exclaimed Ikakku, tapping his zanpakuto on his shoulder impatiently. I glanced at Toushiro and he nodded, untucking his arm from within his sleeves.

"Let's go then."

The guards at the gate nodded their heads and opened the large doors for us. Each one of our hell butterflies fluttered close to us as we began to walk through the gate towards Karakura Town. The journey wasn't long; we exited out of the traditional Japanese sliding doors and found ourselves smack dab in the middle of the candy shop owned by none other than Uruhara Kisuke.

"Oh! That was really fast!" came the sing song voice of the shop owner. We turned to see the approaching blonde, bucket hat man, fanning himself with the paper fan he always carried with him.

"Do you have gigais prepared for us?" asked Toushiro. Uruhara let out a laugh and smiled cheerfully.

"Of course! I'm always prepared. They're in the back along with your usual clothing and school uniform."

We nodded our thanks and headed to the back to get our gigais. I ended up wearing the same black and grey striped, long sleeved shirt with a square neck and a white skirt that reached mid-thigh along with high white socks that reached just past my knees. After we were set, everyone gathered outside of the candy shop to discuss where each person was to stay.

"I'm sure taicho, Reimei-chan, and I can stay at Orihime's house." piped up Matsumoto almost immediately.

"I don't want to eat whatever she cooks me...." muttered Toushiro as he looked dreary just thinking about it.

"Eh?! Her cooking is amazing! What are you talking about taicho?!" Matsumoto countered. Toushiro just sighed and shook his head, mumbling under his breath about cursing Matsumoto for having the same taste. I couldn't help but mentally agree with him; Orihime is a really nice girl but when it came to her cooking....I mentally shuddered.

"Ikakku and I will probably stay at Keigo's house."

"I'll be staying at the shop..." Renji added in, gesturing to the shop behind us with a thumb. I almost tensed at what he said; damn it that means I can't ask Uruhara about my hollow problem. Oh well...Maybe I'll drop by late at night to ask him and hopefully by then, Renji would be asleep.

Toushiro nodded his head, crossing his arms he gave out one last order.

"Keep guard around the area you're staying at; most likely you'll be dealing with whatever hollows show up there. If arrancers start showing up then whoever else is closest to your area will show up as back up. Keep in contact and report anything suspicious."

"Hai!"

We parted ways as Toushiro, Matsumoto and I headed towards Orihime's house. I glanced up at the sky as we walked; Matsumoto was talking non-stop about seeing Orihime again and Toushiro was just trying to bear with it. I noticed it was still early in the afternoon, which meant that it'll be a while before I could sneak out.

**-**

I wasn't exactly sure how I managed to get through most of the day for it to be night now. I was so sure I wouldn't be able to distract myself with anything to pass time but somehow I did it. Shopping with Matsumoto for the day went by like a blur; I could barely recall what little things we did on our trip to boutiques. After that, I remembered going on a stroll with Toushiro to monitor what's going on around town. We visited Ichigo and Rukia to inform that we were here on guard duty and why. Toushiro did most of the talking which left me to space out but that was soon proven to be a bit frightening. I wasn't sure if I was being paranoid but at that moment I could've swore that the black clouds were slowly creeping out of the corner of my eyes again.

Luckily though I was startled out of my thoughts by Toushiro and they seemed to have drifted back out of sight again. Afterwards, it seems like I can't lower my mental guard down or else _she'll_ slowly drift into my conscious. That feeling left me agitated and a bit anxious; agitated that she's slowly controlling my actions and anxious because I don't know how long I could keep up before she really does become 'queen' and I the 'horse'. It was something I dare not let happen. Keeping all of these thoughts from Toushiro proved to be slightly difficult. He had sharp eyes; naturally, because he was captain of the Gotei 13. Not only that, I've been spending most of my time with Toushiro so that gave him the advantage of getting to know my habits.

I kept him at bay though and was ultimately relieved to see the sun set and the skies dimming. That way, I wouldn't have to keep lying to Toushiro; I would get this problem fixed before he could really know what's been going on.

My eyes fluttered open; realizing to myself that I was merely reflecting and thinking while closing my eyes instead of really sleeping. I sat up slowly, making as little noise as possible. I didn't want to alert the captain that was most likely seated directly on the roof of the house over my room. Earlier I had tried to plan a way to slip away from the house without anyone noticing I was gone. Originally, I was going to offer to be on guard duty but knowing Toushiro, he would've denied it; most likely because of my lack of sleep the other night. I reached under my pillow and pulled out my gikon dispenser.

Popping out a small, green orb I swallowed it and felt the rush of something jerking me away from the body. My body which is now inhabited by a mod soul stared back at me questioningly.

"Just stay in bed and sleep, I'll be back soon." I told it and it nodded obediently, preparing to snuggle back into the sheets while I softly padded my way across the room to the door. I quietly creak the door open and slipped through into the hallway before carefully shutting it again. The house was dark, signifying that everyone in the house was fast asleep. Glancing from side to side, I had to route out where it was best to sneak out from inside the house.

I chose to head over to the bathroom, remembering that there was a small window there that led out to the side of the house. I crept over to the direction of the bathroom, concealing my reiatsu all in the while. When I came to my destination, I slipped through the door and my gaze directly landed on the small, rectangular window above the bathtub across from me. I walked towards the bathtub and stepped into it quietly. The bathtub had a ledge that offered just enough space for me to place half of my foot on. I stepped up and reached for the window lever. With a flick of my wrist, I managed to get it open and pushed the glass panel outwards. The night air rushed in and nearly chilled me. Reaching up with both arms, I grasped the small ledge with one foot propped up on the ledge of the bathtub.

I sucked in a breath and with a giant leap I pulled myself up and managed to slip my upper torso through the window. Squirming a bit, I managed to turn myself slightly to fit my legs and lower torso out first before gently letting go of the ledge to land softly on the dirt ground below in a crouch. I sighed out, relieved that I had made it out. Now all I had to do was make my way to Uruhara's shop without being detected. I glanced up at the roof of Orihime's house, I could feel Toushiro's presence thankfully on the other side of the roof and hopefully, facing the other way.

Not taking any chances, I decided to hop the fence of the neighbor's house, swiftly cross the yard using the shadow of the house to conceal myself and hop into the next. It continued on until I reached the other side of the street, steered clear away from Orihime's house and its night guard. It was then that I began to make my way to Uruhara's house but due to my detour, I would be taking the longer way which was literally rounding one whole block of the neighborhood before coming back onto the main street where the shop was situated.

Wasting no time, I began my walk. The neighborhood of Karakura town was eerily quiet when it's night. Only the chirps of the crickets every now and then offered the only source of life around me. The street lights of the park I approached lit sections of the playground and streets while leaving the rest of the area in a veil of darkness. I glanced around me; the surroundings were slowly becoming familiar. I was almost half way there to Uruhara's shop. As I took another step forward, a rumble from within the robes of my shinigami clothing stopped me. I reached into the folds near my chest and pulled out my pearl coloured cell phone. Flipping the cover open, a blinking red dot appeared on a map. On closer inspection, the hollow should be around....here?!

Flipping the phone closed and tucking it back into my robes, I snapped my head around towards the park I had just passed. Almost immediately, a rush of spiritual energy surged from within. I had no choice but to abandon my journey to the candy shop for the moment to get rid of this hollow. The masked monster materialized from a dark portal, its yellow eyes gleaming brightly in the darkness. It stood on two large hind legs complete with muscled arms. It reminded me of a giant or a troll as in his hands, it held a club and not to mention that it looked ugly.

I withdrew Tsumetai Kaze's katana, not bothering to release her shikai form or if I could at all. Either way though, I can't give off any reiatsu or else it would alert nearby shinigamis or worst Toushiro. That was the last thing I wanted to happen. It didn't seem to notice me yet, it was just standing in one spot looking around the park it was in as if observing its surrounding. I took this as a chance to strike it from behind; that way I won't be side tracked from going to Uruhara's shop any longer. With a swift leap, I flashstepped directly behind it and brought my sword down, anticipating a roar of pain to follow but to my shock, it didn't happen.

My sword clashed against the club the hollow had risen to block my attack. My eyes widened in surprise; and here I thought this one was stupid. I jumped back, avoiding the swinging fist that came at my way. I stood a couple of metres away from it, preparing to strike again.

"If it isn't a little shinigami. What's a small thing such as yourself wandering in the middle of the night with no else....?" It mused, chuckling slightly as it turned to face me, club slightly raised. I chose to ignore it and flashstepped quickly again, bringing my sword in a swipe. This time I managed to knick part of its arm because again, it raised its club in defense. How it was able to keep up with me was far beyond me. I jumped back once again to a safe distance as the hollow cursed at its wound. The blood dripping from his arm seems to have resonated louder in my ears as it dropped to the ground. It echoed with each drop and it made me feel like the world was spinning.

What the hell was happening....?! I blinked just in time to avoid the club that came smashing down, destroying the ground where I once stood. My breathing became rough and I didn't believe it was because of that sudden dodge. My stamina was higher than this.

Suddenly a cloudy black mist started to creep into my right eye again. My eyes widened as I clutched a hand over my right eye; why the hell was this happening?! Again I dodged a swinging club and tried to fight back but slowly it seemed like the mist was eating up my vision. I gritted my teeth; it was then I realized _she_ was trying to gain control to probably go on a killing spree or something. I could practically feel the bloodlust resonating from the depths of my conscious now. I would have to kill this hollow quickly. Using every ounce of control and energy I had, I rushed forward catching it off guard, giving a battle cry before bringing my sword down its arm, flashstepped then swiped it horizontally at its stomach, slicing it in half. As it slowly dispersed into small shimmering lights I felt my whole body weight crash down, knocking me onto my knees.

I panted, not understanding why I was still so breathless when I hardly did anything. I shut my eyes and bowed my head hoping that the black mist receded if I tried calming my nerves a bit. Think calm thoughts Reimei....calm, soothing thoughts....

"Reimei?"

My eyes shot open at the call of another's voice. What alarmed me wasn't just the voice anymore; the black mist was still there. I could the footsteps slowly approaching and I slowly start to panic. My body didn't respond when I told it to stand; it only shook as if I had just soaked in a bath tub full of ice. All I could do was keep my head bowed, shielding my eyes at whoever recognized me at this late hour.

"Reimei? Are you alright?" I recognized that voice. I was almost relieved but at the same time, I didn't want to show what a mess I got myself into.

"Reimei...?" he asked again. The footsteps stopped and I could feel his figure kneel in front of me. I still did nothing. Instead, I debated on whether to trust him or not.

"Can you keep a secret...?"

"Eh?"

"Promise, you won't tell anyone about it. Not a single soul no matter who it is...."

An unsure silence reigned over us and I started to question my judgement until he spoke again.

"Yeah, I won't. I promise." His voice was confident so it made me draw in a breath, preparing myself. I raised my head, the orange rays of the street lights made my eyes dialate to adjust to the sudden light and soon met directly with a pair of chestnut brown eyes. His eyes widened in surprise before blinking as if they were uncertain that what they're seeing is just a trick the light and darkness around us were playing or if it was real.

"Reimei what--...?"

I sighed, closing my eyes. "It's a long story Ichigo..."

**Ichigo found out!! I bet you probably know what's gonna happen next right? Well, everything doesn't always seem so obvious *wink wink* Ahem...Anyways! Thank you to all my readers who have stayed with the sequel up until now I LOVE YOU ALL!! 3 I'm so sorry if you waited for a long time and thought I was dead or got kidnapped or something but yeahh...Sorry Being an author is harder than it sounds D: R&R!! Please and thank yous :)**


	10. What Are the Chances?

**Vietvn: WOWW I haven't updated in forever.....and I'm SO sorry T.T School is being a pain in the butt D: I barely had enough time to type so I could only manage a few sentences a day . But here it is! Chapter 10! In all honesty though, I was stuck on what to write near the end so I had to ponder for a while to finally come up with something LOLL I apologize if this is crap or too cliche but.....mehh T.T I thank all of the readers and reviewers for waiting patiently 3!!**

**Chapter Ten: What Are the Chances?**

No sooner had I just revealed Ichigo about my inner hollow, we had both seated ourselves by the curb under a street lamp comfortably for me to start telling how it all happened.

I sat pondering to myself on how to begin as Ichigo waited patiently beside me. First of all, it wasn't a long story and a little side of me was being a bit too prideful and didn't want to deadpan the reason why this happened; I was careless. But then again, it was the damn hollow that always took the cheap shots when I had my back turned to it. But I thought it was dead....Garh! Fine, I'll just tell Ichigo straight up. I took a deep breath and finally started to word my story.

"Well, it's nothing complicated. It happened back when we were in Soul Society defeating the mass outbreak of hollows that Kusaka had summoned."

"That's when it happened? Don't tell me that one somehow possessed you in the middle of fighting..."

I slump my shoulders, letting out a sigh. "Yes, that did happen but it was a hollow I was fighting and when I thought it was dead, it just rose up from its grave and possessed me!"

"Wow...Tough luck..."

I nodded my head reluctantly. I have to admit, it was always trouble coming to look for me now instead of the other way around.

"I was hoping Urahara-san could help me out; you know, find a way to get rid of it."

"I don't think there's a real way to get rid of it."

I felt my heart stop and I immediately whipped my head towards Ichigo. "What do you mean....?"

Ichigo started to laugh for whatever reason I have no idea. I was on the brink of having a heart attack and all he could do was laugh at me. What a nice person...

"I mean you can't get rid of it for good, you can just suppress your inner hollow so it won't bother you and in turn, you'll be able to use their powers."

"Use their power? You can do that?" I asked mildly surprised.

"Haven't you seen me do the same thing?" asked Ichigo, an eyebrow raised and looking rather incredulous at me. I should be the one with that expression. I thought about what he said; did I ever see Ichigo use hollow like powers...? I don't recall seeing something like that, or maybe I simply forgot but even if I were to, I still wouldn't be able to recognize it as hollow powers. I shook my head no but then asked;

"So does that mean you have an inner hollow?"

Ichigo scratched the back of his head almost sheepishly. "Uhh...Yeah...We're what some refer to as Vizards. They're shinigamis that can use hollow abilities. Just like Arrancers who are hollows that can use shinigami abilities."

I nodded; I guess it made sense. If hollows could obtain a human like appearance and have a blade that acted like a zanpakuto, then why couldn't shinigamis learn how to use a cero shot? It made me feel slightly better, knowing that this cursed thing might come in handy.

"How did you suppress your inner hollow then?" I asked.

"...Umm...I had some help by a group of Vizards."

"There are more than just you and me?"

I noticed that I've been shooting a lot of questions at Ichigo but this whole thing was new to me despite all my years as being a shinigami. I mentally praised Ichigo for having so much patience.

"Yeah, there are more. They usually hang around this abandon warehouse. I'll let you meet them."

Seeing as how it's about time to wrap up the discussion, I nodded my head eagerly and started to stand. After brushing and straightening out my robes, I turned to Ichigo once more who also stood to head home.

"When can I meet up with you for that?"

"Depends on you, does anyone besides me know about this?"

I lowered my head, almost out of embarrassment. I could have the heart to tell Ichigo but not Toushiro? But wasn't it for the best? I mean he would kind of freak and constantly worry about me. He doesn't need to know. Besides, I was lucky enough that Ichigo used to be in the same situation as me and he could help me. I would have this hollow thing fixed before anyone notices.

"I'm guessing that's a no...." I heard Ichigo sigh. "Well...I could show you the next morning if you're up for the early rise...."

I nodded my head; the sooner the better. Even if I wasn't a morning person, I wouldn't throw this opportunity aside. We soon parted ways as we both agreed that I would meet him at his house at around 9:00am early in the morning. As I began to make my journey home, I slipped my cell phone from my robes to check the time and almost heaved a loud sigh of exasperation. The digital clock on the screen read that it was 2:45 in the morning. Getting back would mean I wouldn't be getting to bed until 3. Begrudgingly, I carried on walking home; the thought of getting only six hours of sleep to function the next morning haunted my thoughts.

-

"Reimei..."

"...."

"Reimei....wake up..."

"....nngh...."

"C'mon...."

I faintly felt someone nudging me gently under my covers. I peeled an eye open, seeing nothing but the faint light through the sheets. My blurred, drowsy vision soon cleared and I slowly lifted the blanket that covered my head from the sun's beams. Wait....Its morning?! I threw the covers off precariously as I sat up, not caring if whoever that had tried to wake me would see my disheveled bed hair.

"What time is it?!" I blurted out frantically, looking around for any sign of a clock.

"Its 10'o clock." came the muffle reply of someone who sat underneath the covers I had thrown off.

"10?!" I wailed once again without giving it much of a thought. I could care less if I was making a scene in the early hours of morning which were not so early to me anymore. I was late with meeting up with Ichigo! He was probably waiting for the past hour! Did he call me?! Did he even have my number?! I made a grab for my cell phone which was lying peacefully next to my pillow on the futon. I hurriedly skittered across my room and headed towards the bathroom without a second thought, all in the while dialing for Ichigo's number. I remember Toushiro gave it to me once.....Aha! Found it.

I selected the contact number, shouldering the small hand phone as I looked in the mirror, blanched at my appearance and hair and began to comb it with my fingers as the phone began to ring. After a while the phone was answered.

"Moshi moshi....?" asked a groggily voice.

"Ichigo?" I asked, unsure if this was the person I needed to speak to.

"Uh huh.....Reimei...?"

I sighed in relief. "Ichigo have I kept you waiting? I overslept this morning and didn't realize it till now; I've only gotten up."

"Huh?...Oh...No, I'm actually still in bed...Guess last night's walk must've tired me out more than I expected."

I nearly died of relief but at the same time couldn't help but shake my head at his answer. But I can't blame him; we stayed out pretty late last night. It was also nice to know that I wasn't the only one who had overslept; I could take my time in getting ready for the day now.

"So we're still meeting up right?" I asked as I slowly turned on the faucet, letting cold water run into the sink.

"Yeah, lucky we both overslept." Ichigo chuckled. "I'll see you in a bit then."

"Okay."

With that I flipped the phone closed and heaved yet another sigh, placing the phone off to the side of the counter and began to rinse my face with cold water.

After I had finished with my morning routine, I stepped out of the bathroom dressed in the same attire I had worn earlier when I got here and ready for the day. My hair was no longer disheveled. I made my way back to my room to check if whoever had woken me up was still sitting there. I'm pretty confident that it was Toushiro who woke me up. I'd have to apologize for my freak out....and make up an excuse as to why. I poked my head into the room to find that my sheets and pillow were neatly folded at the head of my futon. I smiled, mentally adding another thing to thank Toushiro. Wasting no time, I started to head downstairs to the kitchen where I'm sure Orihime had cooked something up for us to eat...Woot.

The high white socks I had on made my steps light so I didn't think anyone heard me when I came downstairs. I spotted a familiar white hair captain sitting at the small traditional Japanese table in the living room while his lieutenant and our host were busying themselves near the kitchen area. Toushiro glanced up from fiddling with his cell phone and lightly smiled at me as I approached him. I smiled sheepishly in response and took a seat beside him, sitting on my knees.

"Ohayo..." I greeted.

"Ohayo."

"You wouldn't happen to be the one who woke me up...right?"

He gave me 'that' look that told me it was indeed him that was left with a blanket strewn over him in my rush to the bathroom. I mean who else would it be? I laughed lightly and a bit embarrassingly.

"Gomen Shiro-kun, I remembered I had to do something early in the morning but I overslept so I panicked..." I said lamely and later added in gratefully. "But thanks for waking me up...and fixing my bed."

He only chuckled slightly and went back to pushing buttons on his cell phone. "No problem. As long as you didn't knock me out with some sort of reflex in your sleep."

I giggled and leaned over, pressing a quick kiss on his cheek before pulling back. "No, I was too tired to do that."

"Did you sleep well last night?" Toushiro asked, looking at me with his turquoise orbs intently. I then figured he was referring to the lack of sleep I told him before coming here. I nodded reassuringly.

"Yup; best sleep I got."

Toushiro smiled at this and also leaned in to place a small kiss on my lips. He pulled back and rested his forehead against mine.

"I'm glad."

Smiling, I couldn't help but think that Toushiro worried for me too much. He should know very well that I could take care of myself.

"So what were you late for?" He asked.

"Umm...." I started, hesitating a bit. "Just some errand I had to do..."

He lifted his forehead from mine. "Where are you going?"

"Around town." I said, careful with my answers. I prayed mentally that Toushiro would take the bait and thankfully he did. He nodded his head, not questioning me any further.

"Make sure you're aware of your surroundings. If anything happens call me, I'll be around too."

I nodded my head, keeping a mental note to be highly aware of my surroundings. If Toushiro would be 'around' then that would mean he would be wondering around town too. This means I can't be seen with Ichigo....

"Hey you love birds! Breakfast is ready!!" Sang Matsumoto as she appeared out of nowhere, startling both Toushiro and I. She placed two plates of....I wasn't sure what was on the plate. At first I thought it was just burnt looking pancakes but on closer inspection, it didn't look like it was supposed to be burnt....

"Matsumoto...What is that...?" asked Toushiro slowly, shifting a little bit away from it.

I wondered the exact same thing as both he and I stared at the concoction Orihime and Matsumoto had conjured up and labeled breakfast. As much as I love the two; I just wasn't in the mood to guess what it was by taking a bite out of it...

-

I groaned as I made my way down the streets of Karakura to Ichigo's house. Toushiro and I had managed to escape the perils of breakfast. I insisted that I was late for a previous engagement while Toushiro just downright refused to eat whatever they cooked. Eventually, we escaped the house before Matsumoto could tie us down and force feed us. I gave Toushiro one more quick kiss to the lips before bidding farewell though I was disappointed that I'll be starting my day on an empty stomach. I still haven't told him where I was going to but he never pestered me; he just gave me some more reminders of being alert and if anything happens, report to him immediately, etc.

At this time, I started to feel guilty of lying to Toushiro who was so caring and understanding. Most people would pester where their partner was heading out to alone till they go deaf but Toushiro trusted me enough to let me do my own things without giving much details. I shook my head, trying to get rid of my guilty conscience. I was on my way to getting this problem fixed; everything will be back to normal before he even notices.

"Oi, Reimei!" called out a rough voice. I glanced up, snapping out of my thoughts to find the tall orange head teen standing not too far away from me, one hand stuffed into his jean pockets. Ichigo dressed casually, wearing a long sleeved white shirt with the shoulders and sleeves being navy blue and white sneakers. I hurried over to Ichigo.

"Did I keep you waiting long?" I asked.

"No, not really." He replied casually, ruffling his orange hair a bit. "So you ready to go meet the other vizards?"

I nodded eagerly; of course! That's the only reason I would be out here early in the morning (I shouldn't say morning anymore, it's more like 12 in the afternoon now). Ichigo smirked and then turned around to lead the way while I followed obediently like a lost puppy. We walked for a couple of minutes, chatting idly about whatever comes into our mind. It was pleasant and friendly; it helped keep my mind off of being anxious and nervous which I was thankful. Soon, we reached what looked like an abandon warehouse. The ground was dirt covered, no grass was anywhere in sight. Other old warehouses and storage houses surrounded the larger, main warehouse where we were currently looking up at.

"So they hang around here...?" I asked unsurely as I surveyed the outside of the warehouse.

"Yup, it's their hideout or base." shrugged Ichigo as he began to walk towards the entrance. I followed in tow, wondering who these people were. We entered through the two large wooden doors. I glanced around to find that most of the building on the inside was totally ruined. Only about 4-5 levels of broken ledges stuck out in different angles above us and it was then that I noticed there were multiple shadowed figures perched on each broken ledge, peering down at us. Ichigo seemed to have noticed too because he stopped in the middle of the room, facing towards the mysterious group of people who I am now assuming were the vizards he spoke about.

"Oi! Shinji! I need a favor from you." Ichigo spoke, loud and clear.

Shinji....I thought; it sounded familiar. One of the taller figures moved closer to the ledge, allowing me to get a better view as to who it was. It was a man who seemed tall with short, straight cut dirty blonde hair that just stopped at his chin complete with straight fringes. He wore a black, buttoned up, long sleeved collared shirt that was tucked into his white pants and belt and wore a slim white tie to go along with the whole black and white theme he had going on. Where have I seen this man before?

"Kurosaki Ichigo...." He spoke in an almost bored tone, looking down at us from his ledge. "A favor from you isn't always a good thing; so it depends on what you're askin'...." His sharp eyes drifted towards me and we locked gazes. We stared at each other for a few minutes as if trying to figure the other out. I knew for certain he was trying to identify me but was unsure as to whom I was. He furrowed his eyebrows in a thinking manner, slightly frowning.

"And who...might you be?"

"Tanaka Reimei; captain of the 5th squad of the Gotei 13." I replied back confidently. He leant back incredulously to speculate me; as if wondering what I had just said was what he just heard. He made a leap down and landed right in front of us a few metres away. He then began to approach us in long stride steps but Ichigo and I still kept our grounds. The tall teen standing beside me was staring confusedly at Shinji as he came closer to us. When he was within arm's reach, he stopped and bent down to me; further inspecting and making me shift uncomfortably under his close proximity. A few minutes of just looking at me, he spoke.

"So YOU'RE the new captain of the 5th squad..." he mused. I huffed a bit; he said it like he was in disbelief.

"So what of it?" I answered back.

"HAHHH? She's the new captain of 5th squad?!" exclaimed a much more feminine voice from above. A white blur dashed down and landed on the ground before bounding over to us. Whoever just arrived was a girl who looked no older than 16 with bright, lime green hair that looked almost neon in a short, bob cut with goggles over her head. She wore a white and orange jump suit with a short orange scarf tied around her neck. She peered at me with bright grey eyes and I had to lean back to avoid her actually kissing me.

"Mashiro, can you get out of her face...?" A girl with a sailor like school uniform approached us. She wore red glasses and had her dark, black hair tied into a short braid. Person after person came out to greet us one way or another until there was eight people in total standing around. I remain quiet the entire time they were questioning Ichigo the reason why I was here. I wasn't paying attention to any of it because I was caught up in trying to figure out how these faces were all very familiar. After a few minutes or so, it all finally clicked into place. My eyes visibly widened.

"You're Hirako Shinji!" I exclaimed, staring at the tall, blonde male who always had the funny Cheshire cat-like smile; reminded me of Ichimaru Gin which scared me. He peered down at me again, hands on either side of his hips.

"So what of it...?" He asked with a deadpan look.

"You're former 5th squad captain of the Gotei 13. I remember now; I was still under Yoruichi's command at that time before I left. I didn't recognize you at first because I remembered you had longer hair...." I said thoughtfully.

His expression became even more deadpanned if that was even possible. Hiyori who was off to the side, had burst out in hysterics probably from remembering a mental image of said ex-captain with longer hair. After calming herself down, she made her way to stand in front of me, crossing her arms and looked at me with judgmental eyes; her one sharper canine teeth sticking out from under her lips.

"Yeah, I remember you; that little brat who Yoruichi favored in training every morning. What's someone like you doing here?" She looked over to Ichigo who stared down at her in an almost hateful way. "And with this carrot-top." She made a gesture to Ichigo.

I stared a bit blankly at Hiyori before letting my eyes drift around to the faces of the other people. Former captains of the Gotei 13 and lieutenants and what was more surprising was a former kido corps lieutenant. It finally dawned on me as the reason why I was here was connected to the people I was supposed to meet; these people were all what Ichigo referred to as vizards, shinigamis who possess hollow-like abilities.

"You all have hollow like powers...?" I asked slowly. They all stared at me, their gazes piercing as if I had just said something wrong. Shinji, Hachi, Love, and Rose were probably the only ones who didn't look too hostile about me bringing up that fact so bluntly.

"Ah, we're what you call vizards." Shinji replied. "What are you gonna arrest us now or somethin'?"

I raised an eyebrow questioningly but decided to brush off his comment. "I need your help Shinji..."

"Depends on what kind of help. If it's fighting against Aizen with the Gotei 13 then to hell with that..."

"No..." I said but then hesitated to reveal my real reason. "I....I need help controlling my inner hollow..."

His eyes visibly widened and again, he leant back a bit to look at me incredulously. "HAHH?? Are you serious?"

I nodded my head almost embarrassingly.

"So did you get possessed or somethin'?"

I nodded again. I looked up at Shinji who was scratching his head with that deadpan look still on his face.

"Geez...."

"Were you being stupid or what?" Hiyori asked with the same deadpan look. I glared at her even though she ranked lieutenant already by the time I got into the Gotei 13.

"It's not my fault the hollow took a cheap shot!" I seethed and crossed my arms.

"I don't know kid," Shinji finally said. "The process itself takes a while and even so...we can't guarantee an outcome that is in your favor...."

I furrowed my eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

"I'm sayin' that durin' the process, you'll have to fight against your hollow. Depending on your strength, you might come out as a loser and a full fledged hollow."

My eyes widened considerably at this fact; depending on me, this process could actually change me into a hollow faster than if I were to solely suppress my inner hollow on sheer willpower. But that's the thing; how long will I last till I turn into a hollow that way? That would mean I would have to avoid Toushiro all together and there's no hiding the secret from him that way; he would surely notice. Should I take this gamble....?

"You should come back when you've made up your mind...." Shinji said boredly as he placed a hand on my head. "Don't push yourself..."

I nodded, sighing a bit in depression. Ichigo who had remained relatively quiet during the entire conversation, turned to me and asked silently if I wanted to leave to think about my decision or stay and go on with it. I turned to Shinji.

"I'll think about it...." I said. He huffed a sigh and boredly made his way back to whatever it was that he was doing before we got here.

"If you decide you'll go through with it, you know where to find me..."

"See ya everyone." Ichigo said plainly as he and I began to exit the abandoned warehouse. We walked back into the town of Karakura and wandered into a cafe since I never got to eat breakfast this morning. Ichigo ordered a coffee while I had a bagel and French vanilla cappuccino. I silently tore my bagel into chunks and ate silently, contemplating to myself about my life-changing decision. I weighed out the pros and cons of either side but to me, it seemed too close to a 50/50 chance. Finishing off my bagel, I let out a heavy sigh and stared out onto the streets of Karakura, watching people walk the busy streets.

"I think you should go through with the process." Ichigo said suddenly from across the table. I looked back to him with a questioning stare but he just continued to watch the people walking on the streets. I waited for him to continue.

"It's not as bad as it seems. When I first went through with it, there was a time when I thought I was going to lose to my inner hollow. I won't lie to you and say that this is a simple process. The outcomes don't really depend on your level of strength, it's your trust in your instincts."

I took his words into thoughts; instincts?

"What do you mean by instincts?" I asked him.

"You'll see when you're actually facing your inner hollow. It's kind of hard to explain...." Ichigo said, shrugging. "And I've been meaning to ask,"

I perked up a bit from staring at my French vanilla cup, showing that I was listening.

"Why are you hiding this from everyone? Especially from Toushiro."

I let out a breath and took the white ceramic cup in my hands. The heat radiating from the cup immediately warmed my palms. "It's just that..." I paused, trying to think of the right words to explain myself. "I didn't want anyone to worry about me; there's already so much going on and adding this would just make everything more bothersome. Besides, this is my problem that I have to deal with."

Ichigo scoffed a bit and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "You sound exactly like Toushiro and look what happened to him; he caused an even bigger problem. Shouldn't that be a lesson learned?"

"I know...but I honestly think that I could get this fixed before anyone notices that something was wrong."

"Then why aren't you?"

"I was gonna but now this...." I trailed off.

"I know you're scared inside, but this is your only chance to prevent something dangerous from happening that might end up hurting those you care about. Who knows how long you can keep your inner hollow back before it eventually takes control. Trust your instincts; you're a captain of the Gotei 13 for crying out loud."

I remained silent, staring down at the swirling beverage in my hands. What am I doing...? This is what I wanted right? My only chance to defeat my inner hollow so that I know for sure it won't bother me. I guess all of this thinking threw me off balance. So I guess whatever happens happens. I sighed mentally to myself; I over analyze too much.... Taking a sip of my French vanilla cappuccino, I breathed out steadily as its sweet taste washed down my throat. I'm not sure whether it was the caffiene or Ichigo's advice, I felt like the weight off my shoulder has been lifted.

"I should go..." I said suddenly while getting up, startling Ichigo.

"Where to?" He asked as he also stood with me.

"To see someone...about a certain method to suppress my inner hollow...."

I could almost feel Ichigo's smirk as he and I both left the cafe after we paid. We stepped out onto the streets, the sun still shining in the afternoon. Ichigo stretched his arm over his head and breathed out. After doing so, he turned to me.

"Ready?"

I nodded my head confidently and shot him a smile. "Yes."

He smirked down at me in response. "Then let's go."

As we began to walk back to the abandon warehouse with my head held high, a sudden 360 degree turn of events made my confidence level drop to zero and my anxiety and nervousness sky rocket. I felt my eyes widen in shock and surprise, my heart suddenly started to beat quickly in my chest at what was standing in front of us. Ichigo had too stopped in his track but more out of surprise. He just didn't realize that hell could break loose any minute if either of us made the wrong move.

"Toushiro..." His name slipped from my mouth slowly. Just where I least expected him; standing a few meters from us, one hand in his pocket, cell phone in the other with surprise reflecting in his turquoise eyes.

**Bwahaha LOL. Yeah I just had to make it more complicated for Reimei...so evil.......XD I'll probably add more action scenes in the next chapter...it's kinda slow right now but we gotta add in more drama right? XD R&R! Thank you all so much for continuing to read this story! I'm trying my best to deliver a satisfying chapter each time! I really appreciate you all! 3**


	11. Instincts

**Vietvn: HAAA!! You thought I was dead didn't you?! XD Well...I nearly went insane...since before the holidays I was bombarded with essays and projects and tests! D: Crazy teachers DX So I absolutely had NO chance whatsoever to write. Plus, to be honest, I didn't intend of to have this story go on for this long...I honestly don't know how to end this after Reimei beats her hollow and becomes a vizard...Soooo I gotta give that some thought....**

**But anyways!! I LOVE YOU ALL MY BELOVED READERS WHO REVIEWED!! T^T I don't deserve it T.T So to recap the last chapter since I'm sure most of you must've forgotten... XD**

**Reimei and Ichigo just exited the cafe where they were having brunch, talking about whether Reimei should go through with the hollowfication process despite the risks. Ichigo encourages her to do so and with renewed confidence, Reimei stalks back to the warehouse where the vizards are to do it. Unfortunately however, she encounters someone who she didn't expect would be there...Toushiro.**

**Chapter Eleven: Instincts**

**Still Reimei's POV**

Oh no no no no no........This can't be happening. What are the chances of me meeting Toushiro at a time like this? Just when things started to look up too, this just has to happen. Ichigo and I stood frozen to our spots, not daring to make a move as Toushiro continued to stare us down with his piercing eyes. I swear they narrowed almost into a glare. The crowd of people walking along the streets just kept on moving around us, not bothering that a bunch of teens had just stopped in the middle of the streets for a stare-down. I don't know how long we've been staring at each other for but the awkward silence of this disturbed me. Why isn't Ichigo saying anything? I let my eyes travel to the side where Ichigo was standing and peered at his expression briefly. He was glancing from Toushiro to me than back to Toushiro as if signifying to me that he wasn't sure what to say.

Great...Leave everything to me. What am I supposed to say?! I saw Toushiro made a move to speak first; he did not look too happy so in the mist of my growing panic, I said the first thing that anyone would say in a situation like this and yet always make it sound the wrong way.

"This isn't what it looks like I swear...."

Toushiro briefly closed his mouth to frown; his brows furrowed with an unpleasant look on his face before speaking. "Then I believe you can explain to me why you just walked out of the cafe with Kurosaki Ichigo by your side.....?"

I nearly flinched as he almost spat out the words but after my panic attack resided, I had to stare at him a bit incredulous; is he accusing me of cheating on him for Ichigo?! I nearly puffed out a breath in amusement at the thought or the nerve of him to immediately think that first. Is it wrong to eat brunch with a friend who happens to be a guy?! I straightened myself up to answer Toushiro back confidently.

"We were just having brunch since this morning I skipped out on the breakfast Orihime and Matsumoto made....which you were clearly there to witness...." I said.

"So then I can safely assume that those plans you needed to do today was in fact a meet up with Ichigo all along....?" he replied once again almost spitefully.

"Look Toushiro-..."

"No I got this." I cut off Ichigo in a mutter. I kept my gaze steady on Toushiro who returned it with a suspicious glare. "Look Toushiro, I swear on my life that I'm not cheating on you or going behind your back with Ichigo....." I said slowly.

"Then mind explaining to me what business you have with him?"

I hesitated; that was a question that I wasn't prepared for. I couldn't technically tell him about my inner hollow....I feel uncertain of myself. There wasn't exactly any proof either; he could take it the wrong way or assume it was a lie to cover things up. Plus, I was on my way to fix this problem and once I get it fixed, I'll admit it to him. I heaved a sigh, letting it out slowly and slightly let my shoulders slump. Forgive me Toushiro...but please just wait a little longer....

"I....I can't tell you right now..."

I heard him scoff. "I wonder why..."

"It's not what you're thinking; I'll explain everything soon. Just wait a little longer....."

"I don't think you have anything more to say then and neither do I...."

The way he spoke those words were harsh but in an almost calm way. It stung for a bit and left me dazed. I saw him approach us but I made no action to move. As he came to just brushing my shoulder, I asked him one last question.

"....Do you trust me?"

He stopped in his tracks; we were side by side but both facing opposite directions, neither of us made eye contact. A long pause broke between us as I waited for his response. It felt like an eternity before I heard him heave a small sigh and then proceeded to walk onwards without saying a single word. I had to admit; that kind of hurt and caused an aching in my chest to stir but my mind wasn't compromising what my heart felt. I knew deep down he wanted to trust me but couldn't decide between trusting his heart or his logics....I hope.

"Reimei...You sure it's alright not to tell him now?" Ichigo asked after staying relatively quiet through the encounter. I closed my eyes, collecting my thoughts before proceeding to slowly walk in the direction of the warehouse.

"Don't worry about it....Toushiro's probably being a bit childish right now and will probably ignore me for a bit. Since he didn't respond to my question, I'm guessing he's just having trouble deciding on whether to trust his heart or his logics."

Ichigo took in my words before responding once again. "You still don't have to fight this battle alone...."

"Even if I did tell him now, he wouldn't be able to do anything. It's all up to me. Besides, when I get this done and over with, I'll tell him for sure. Not like I'll keep it from him forever."

We eventually made it back to the abandoned warehouse and proceeded to enter it without so much as to announce our presence. As we came through the two wooden doors, we found that all of the vizards had settled down for lunch. Shinji was the one who noticed us first.

"Ohh..back so soon?" He asked in between mouthfuls of rice.

I nodded. "I've decided to go through with the process."

Hiyori frowned a bit in disbelief. "Hahh...And for a moment I thought Shinji's threats would scare you...Tch."

"We'll start as soon as we finish lunch." Shinji said, waving us off with his pair of chopsticks. I sighed; they really did know how to drain out the confidence in me....

After a while of waiting, they were finally finished. I got up from my spot against the wall and headed towards them.

"So...are we gonna start?" I asked.

"Yup...but first-"

"No way is she doing what you guys did to me the first time I started this...!" Ichigo interrupted suddenly. Of course, I didn't know what he was talking about so I let the conversation between Shinji and Ichigo continue.

"Hahh? What?"

"That stupid step pedal, exercising machine thing! It would waste more time!"

"It's not a stupid pedal exercising machine! It's the Super Hiyori Walker!!" exclaimed Hiyori, jumping into the conversation.

"Ohhh...that...Well how else are we gonna measure her reiatsu....?"

"She's a captain level, I'm pretty sure it'll take months for you to actually drain her of all her reiatsu just by making her run on a half-assed NordicTrack."

"It's the Super Hiyori Walker!!!"

I stood off to the side, watching the three argue about the topic; I still had no idea what the hell the 'Super Hiyori Walker' is but according to Ichigo's description, it was a 'half-assed exercising machine' that was supposedly meant to drain someone's reiatsu in order for it to be measured.

"Fine!! We'll do it your way then Kurosaki..Sheesh..." Shinji finally agreed. He turned towards me. "Oi, Tanaka."

I perked up at my name. "Hai?"

"Have you had any problems with your hollow? Ya know, attacks from it trying to take over?"

I thought about it. "Hm...Not frequently...Just random spurts, but I haven't completely lost control to it yet..."

Shinji nodded his head. "Okay...you're not as bad as Ichigo who's constantly leaking reiatsu...."

"Can we start now?" I asked rather impatiently. They were stalling for quite some time now.

"Sure, if ya say so." Shinji said as a Cheshire cat smirk lit up his face. I didn't like the looks of it and before I could react, he had swiftly moved in front of me and struck his palm against my forehead. A sensation that felt like I was peeling away from something rushed through my body and it was then that I noticed Shinji had slipped on one of those specialized gloves. Before I could snap at him for not warning me of doing such a sudden action, his hands had started to illuminate a light blue hue to which at this point, I felt my conscious slip away.

**Normal POV**

Ichigo watched as the young raven-violet haired captain, now dressed in her uniform, fell limp by being knocked out by Shinji. Kensei had stepped up and proceeded to carry Reimei under one arm by the waist, holding her as if she was a doll. Ichigo wasn't sure if that was necessary but didn't exactly question it as he too was knocked out right before being taken to their underground training area. He figured that it must be so that she could get in touch with her inner hollow in order to face against it.

"Hacchi, a double layered barrier if you please..." Shinji requested to which the large man complied.

The group of vizards along with Ichigo had then started to make their way down the shaft that lead to their training grounds; a clear, barren land with nothing but rocks jutting out randomly under a clear blue sky. Nothing has changed since the last time he trained here. Kensei laid the limp body of Reimei down in the middle of the terrain -stomach first- before walking off to stand next to Hacchin. Ichigo stayed close to the other vizards too and watched in awe at the procedure they went through to prepare for Reimei's hollowfication. Having not seen this before, this would be Ichigo's first time in seeing what they had also done to him for his process.

From beside Ichigo, Kensei pulled out a wrist watched and after pushing a few buttons, nodded to Hacchin who started to cast kidou spells.

"Wall of iron sand, tower formed from hate, forge molten iron and neatly finish in silence. Way of Binding Number 75: Quintet of Iron Pillars!"

Ichigo was shocked when five rather large, iron rods came dropping down from the sky and landed effectively on Reimei's limbs; pinning them down. The iron rods towered over all of them and Ichigo could only imagine the weight of each one. As Hacchi proceeded to then set up a barrier similar to Orihime's, Ichigo turned to Shinji who watched beyond in a passive manner.

"Were the five iron rods necessary?"

"We're just taking precautions...Never know what kind of power one can exhibit when they're transforming into a hollow."

The substitute shinigami blinked and nodded his head slowly to show he understood; if Reimei was of captain level then it's for certain that she's bound to cause some damage with her level of reiatsu whether she intended to or not.

A sudden shockwave erupted from within the orange barrier, swirling large gusts of wind throughout the area. The large iron pillars rattled loudly against each other by the force and Ichigo had to brace himself from being blown back. Everyone stood their grounds and only continued to watch the chaos that would soon commence.

"...Here she comes."

Ichigo thought twice about shooting Shinji a questioning look as he got his answer soon after the blonde had said it. From under the iron pillars, Reimei's head suddenly shot up from its limp form. Following her sudden awake was that of an animalistic snarl emitting from the young captain and through the barrier, Ichigo could faintly make out the white hollow mask that covered half of her face. The mask reminded Ichigo of something like a cross between a skull mask but with reptile like features. It had somewhat of a snout forming where the nose was, baring rows of jagged teeth that would have been way too sharp on a lizard unless it was a dinosaur. The eye slits were narrowed like his own mask with red markings around the eyes and jaw but what made it really unique was the slight frill that started at the back ends of the mask. Streaked with jagged red lines, the frill mimicked the loose skin that fanned out on a frilled neck lizard. The extra feature stretched just pass covering her head, leaving her long hair to flow out under it.

Her eyes were alert and crazed; the sclera in her eyes were blackened by the possession of the hollow inside her, leaving her usually bright amethyst eyes looking more like a maroon purple colour filled with nothing but bloodlust.

The iron pillars that pinned her down collapsed under the spirit pressure Reimei was emitting and as they crumbled, the 5th division captain slowly rose to her feet and grabbed a hold of her blue handled zanpakuto.

Ichigo watched nervously as Lisa voluntarily stood from her spot, one hand clutching her katana as she eyed Reimei with a serious expression.

"Hacchi, open the barrier here. I guess I'll take guard duty like last time..." she muttered.

"Hai." Hacchi replied, allowing the barrier to make a rectangular entrance for Lisa to step through. Reimei in turn snarled and hissed out, intently eyeing her pray as she held her own zanpakuto already unsheathed from its case.

Lisa in turn unsheathed hers calmly once she stood about a good distance in front of the half-hollowed raven-violet haired girl. Raising her katana towards Reimei, Lisa took up a stance while still holding onto her serious expression.

"Yadomaru Lisa....Nice to meet you."

**Reimei's POV a little before fighting**

Where am I.....?

"Heh, good to see you've come out of your dazed senses."

I snapped my eyes to look ahead and found none other than my hollow self standing in front of me, staring with a smirk imprinted onto her lips. Her darkened eyes glittered with amusement and I could only narrow my own into a glare. We were once again standing in the barren, snow covered land that once was supposed to be my subconscious when visiting Tsumetai Kaze.

"So...are you ready to get your butt handed to ya?" she continued to taunt. It was then that I noticed she was holding a blade in her hand. The handle was a mirror image of Tsumetai Kaze's but the colour of it was a dark navy blue instead of the pastel, sky blue. What I also came to notice was that she was dressed in a shinigami uniform only it was white instead of the traditional black. A captain's haori also adorned her in the opposing colours of its original.

I looked down at myself and was relieved that I was also in my shinigami uniform with Tsumetai Kaze's blade strapped to the left side of my hip. I guess this is it...

I slowly drew out my blade and poised it towards her. "I'm not about to let someone with the likes of you to trample over me." I retorted, also taking into a stance. The hollow me just snickered, her smirk widened into a grin as she placed her free hand on her hip, leaning her weight on one leg and slinging the still sheathed blade to rest on her shoulder.

"Now is that any way to talk to your future queen?"

"Quit the talking and face me." I snapped, losing my patience with her as she continued to taunt. She scoffed in response and in the blink of an eye, she shunpo'ed in front of me swiftly. I had barely enough time to react to block her katana as it came down on me. When she had unsheathed it was a question that nearly frightened me.

"Heh, if you're asking to be killed faster than I would not hesitate to comply with your wishes." She mocked as she continued to hammer me with powerful strikes. I still kept up my defense, blocking all of her strikes though each of them made my hands tremble more. She suddenly jumped away and disappeared. I moved out of my defensive stance and quickly blocked the attack that came from behind me. I swung at her fast pushing her blade away from mine. She jumped back once again and brought back her sword to strike.

"Kamaitachi!" My eyes went wide as she swung her sword in mid-air and a sudden gust of whirlwind shot towards me. I growled lowly and brought my sword up as well.

"Blow them away: Tsumetai Kaze! Kamaitachi!" I sent back my own whirlwind and they clashed together, causing one huge vortex of cutting wind to erupt in between us and disperse everywhere. I held up my arm to block the stray wind currents, earning a few thin cuts on my forearm. As the winds died down I suddenly felt her presence coming from behind me at such speed that I had no time to react. I whipped my sword around in attempt to block but was harshly blown back by the sheer force. I slid against the cold, snowy grounds, kicking up the snow before I flipped myself right up again. The blow had left me breathless and my breathing came in short pants. I glared dangerously ahead as my hollow self just stood sneering at my battered form while she hardly had a scratch on her.

"You might as well give up." She continued to snicker. "Maybe then you'll have a higher chance at coming out of this in one piece."

I said nothing in reply and just raised my sword. "Hyōton: Tsubame Fubuki!" With a quick swing of my zanpakuto, ice spilled out from the tip and whipped towards my hollow self. As it charged towards her, the ice slowly took on the shape of swallows, rushing at her in a large horde. Just when they were mere inches away from hitting her, she calmly raised her sword with an amusing glint in her eyes.

"Fūton: Kazekiri (Wind Release: Wind Cutter; do not own LOL)." A large gust of wind sliced the ice swallows cleanly in half, immediately nullifying the attack and continued to plow right towards me at high speed. I shunpo'ed out of the way on time but suddenly a searing pain erupted from across my back. I whipped my sword around to ward her off and she did by flipping back, all in the while laughing. I hunched over slightly, feeling the warmth of my blood seep through my clothes from my back.

"Face it Rei-chan, you're not gonna win this battle no matter how stubborn you are."

There she goes ranting again; can she fight without saying a single sentence for once?! I only glowered at her as I straightened myself a bit and gripped the handle of my zanpakuto, poising it so that the sharp end was directed towards her; where her face would soon be saying hello to.

"Wanna know why you struggle so hard while I hardly break a sweat?"

I made no attempt to respond to her rhetorical question and just shunpo'ed to her with the fastest speed I could muster at the moment. This battle was dragging out longer than I had thought it would take and it was slowly taking a toll on my stamina. She raised her blade and mine connected with her in a blade lock. Her way of fighting me made it look like I was just some new shinigami; fresh out of the academy and was currently fighting a division captain. She only had one grip on her zanpakuto to hold up against me. Her dark obsidian eyes sparkled in amusement as she peered down at me, grinning widely as I gritted my teeth, struggling to break through her defense.

"You're weak and you have no instinct. You have no idea what the nature of your zanpakuto is."

We pushed back and slashed at each other again; sparks flying from the harsh contact of metal against metal.

"Wind and ice; a perfect combination for a winter storm wouldn't you say?"

"I prefer a hailstorm." I spat back.

"Right no matter. But beside the point; it's futile for you to have remotely any _control_ over such elements. You're only limiting its abilities."

She suddenly pushed back and I was flung back. I skidded to a stop and glared at her as she held up her zanpakuto, holding her free hand, palm faced down over the metal blade.

"Wind and ice; elements such as these are meant to flow freely! Bankai!"

I stared in shock as the blade changed to that of my bankai except the blade had changed to the pastel, pale blue as opposed to the original dark, navy blue. The fan had also switched its colouring to that of pure black with white feathers and dark blue framing. I held up my own zanpakuto, calling out bankai as well. We now stood face to face; the bankai outfit of hers was the total opposite colour of mine. I glared as she grinned and raising the fan in her hand, she held it in front of her, showing the black feather designs on the material to me.

"It's time I show you how to truly harness the power of your zanpakuto."

Suddenly ice shards around the size of small daggers erupted on the edge of the fan; spreading across the span of it. Tossing it into the air, my hollow self caught it by the navy blue ribbon that trailed at the end of the fan and began to spin it leisurely. I eyed the fan warily; why hadn't I thought of that before? More so, I didn't even know I could do that. My thoughts were cut short when she suddenly disappeared in front of me, only to reappear mere inches in front of me with her zanpakuto ready to strike down.

I held mine up in defense, pushed away but then nearly had the ends of the daggered ice fan meeting my face. I barrel rolled to the side, gritting my teeth as I felt the same stinging pain erupt from my shoulders now and the warmth of the blood seeping through. I couldn't catch a break as the fan came at me again. I swiped it away with my zanpakuto and quickly took the time to form ice daggers at the ends of my own fan to deflect the incoming blade of my hollow's zanpakuto. Her strikes became faster and I was straining to keep up. Needless to say, she was better at wielding the fan than me; using the long ribbon effectively to swing the ice bladed fan at me. We came to another blade lock and as we met face to face, she let out a laugh. I couldn't land a single hit on her the entire time; not only is it frustrating but it's slowly pissing me off. Not to mention that her laugh is equally annoying.

"You look so pathetic! I'll do you a favor and put you out of your misery and you don't have to worry about your little boyfriend either; I promise I'll take _good_ care of him."

That's it; oh she's getting it now! The anger from within me shot up so quickly I could barely comprehend my next action. I shoved her off with such force that she skidded a good few metres from me, a surprised look painted across her face but she immediately covered it up with a smirk.

"Well, looks like that hit a nerve. Hmph, then maybe I should-.."

"Shut up." I snapped at her.

"_Hey kid, about time I could reach you."_

At first I froze, not sure whether I had heard correctly or if I was simply going insane from this battle.

"_Oi, what the hell are you doing?! Watch what she's doing!!"_

Ha, so I'm not going insane. I felt a familiar sensation tingle in the hand that gripped the handle of the katana and only briefly glanced up to see a black and white blur dash towards me. Surprisingly, I managed to raise my zanpakuto in time to block her oncoming blade. Then it hit me...

"Instincts..." I mused to myself. The thought nearly made me chuckle but I couldn't suppress the grin that slowly formed on my lips.

"What's so funny?" snarled my hollow as she pushed against my blade. I looked her straight on, the grin still plastered on my face but my eyes slowly drifted to the hilt of my zanpakuto. It was no longer the blue hue of Tsumetai Kaze's.

It was that of Tsukuyomi's.

"Instincts...Heh...I'll give you instincts..."

**Omgg..Chapter 11....=.= Probably sucked cuz yeah... but now Reimei gets to kick butt after getting Tsukuyomi!! XD Next chapter update; just so you guys would know, will most likely not be in a while. Exams are coming up and I got three more projects to do before that while studying for exams too =.= Plus! I gotta work out the ending to this story!! DX So so guys...if you want, you can make some idea suggestions; hopefully those would help me jog my imagination a little... XD R&R if you will too!**

**Thank you guys so much!! 3**


	12. Certified Vizard

**Vietvn: I bet you all want to kill me right? LOL! I know, it's been a bajillion years since I last updated and I deeply, DEEPLY, apologize for that. I was stuck with a huge writer's block because I realized that I don't know where I want this to go so for now...I'm kinda following the anime/manga storyline...=\ Except..maybe speeding things up a bit to make things interesting... XD**

**Thank you to ALL the reviewers and readers so far for this story! Reading reviews from you guys makes me happy but feel bad at the same time cuz I'm stuck and are making you guys wait! DX But I do really appreciate it! ^^**

**As a small recap to those who might've forgotten what happened previously; Reimei goes back to the vizards to tell them that she does want to go through with the hollowification process (after talking about it with Ichigo) and they knock her out and she goes into battle against her inner hollow in what should be Tsumetai Kaze's realm in her subconscious BUT now that the hollow is there, it messes some things up. Amidst of the battle, Reimei struggles to get the upper hand since all she does is out bested by her hollow self. When all hope is lost on winning this one-sided battle, Reimei obtains her other zanpakuto Tsukuyomi.**

**Ja Ja! On with it now!**

**Chapter Twelve: Certified Vizard**

A sudden wave of strength and energy overflowed me as I held steady against my hollow's blade. I was calm, but on the other hand, my hollow self was no where near the calm, mocking and overpowering force that now existed in my subconscious. Her eyes widened in surprise and in disbelief. I guess now she finally realizes that she's no longer in control of the outcome. I swiped her away rather easily with a dark burst of energy that resonated from Tsukuyomi's blade, pushing her back. She skidded to a stop, crouched low and glaring daggers at me while gripping her zanpakuto.

"You...!" She seethed, eyes narrowing.

"What of me?" I asked, cocking my head to one side. She straightened herself, still glaring icily at me and promptly demanded.

"That zanpakuto! It's not supposed to exist in this realm! How the hell did you get it?"

"I know just about as much as you do on this matter, not like it matters anyways." I said almost a little cocky. I felt like I could seriously kick ass now, despite the wounds I was also enduring at the moment. I smirked and poised Tsukuyomi's blade to her direction; she only continued to glare at me coldly but nonetheless, raised her blade too.

[cue Bleach OST 3 Nube Negra XD]

"Leer," I let the word flow from my mouth. "Tsukuyomi." Darkness engulfed the zanpakuto and changed it instantly to a katana with the imprinted kanji in the thick blade. The whole landscape that we were standing in also changed; instead of just darkness and snow, a red moon appeared overhead. I saw my hollow self grit her teeth before lunging at me with the intent of chopping my head off.

"This still doesn't change anything!" She shrieked, raising her zanpakuto to strike me.

"Hmph." I raised Tsumetai Kaze's fan which still had ice daggers lining the edges and with a flick of my wrist, sent them flying towards her. Of course she managed to swipe them away in her fury but she left herself wide open.

"Kokuangyo (Bringer of Darkness)."

The entire surrounding went dark, the sky blackened with no crimson moon in sight and the ground no longer held a snowy landscape; nothing but darkness. I waited and watched from afar as my hollow self stood petrified in her spot, not knowing what's going on.

"How cowardly! You set this illusion up to just hide in its shadows from me?" She sneered as she twisted and turned her gaze in every which way, as if trying to find me. How could she? She was foolishly blinded by her rage. I let out an inaudible sigh; I might as well finish this now.

"To think that you're superior to me is the most pathetic illusion of all. I see now that you're quite vulnerable. Indeed at times I really thought I wouldn't stand a chance against you; someone who seems to understand instincts more than I. But this way now, you've opened up a new sense for me. So in a way, I should thank you."

"STOP MOCKING ME!" She shouted; her voice echoing loudly in the dark void. I moved to strike her, poising Tsukuyomi's blade and quickly shunpo'ed to her while quickly summoning more ice shards at the end of my fan. I threw the fan off to one side and made it so the ribbon extended and it slowly made a curve to bend back to me like a boomerang but at the same time, it effectively encased a radius that was enough to strike my hollow half unknowingly. If I was to defeat her, I would have to be a bit craftier.

I made to strike down on her from behind but she quickly brought her sword up to stop it. I gazed into narrowed ice blue irises set against black one last time before they widened in shock; my fan had made contact with her chest and was now protruding through to the front. I remained passive in the face but inside was glad that my plan had worked. If it didn't, I would've been in trouble.

"Your own weakness is with your emotions; you become too easily blinded by it." As I said this; I began to wonder if that was also my downfall. An inner weakness...

The thought of it seems plausible though I haven't exhibited such a behavior as of yet; but this fact is definitely worth keeping in mind for the future. As my hollow half started to fall forward, the effects of my attack wearing off and the snow terrain revealed itself once more but no sooner had everything been reverted back to 'normal', a blizzard kicked up harshly. It obscured my own vision and I had to keep one arm up to block out the snow that kept whipping at me. The flurry of the storm had also confused me as my vision slowly started to become blurrier. I hadn't realized till the last minute that I was losing consciousness. Before I let my eyes shut, her chilling voice once again pierced through my head; seething with anger and contempt but giving off a hint of mutual respect.

"Fine...You win...This time.."

"How long has it been?"

"...68 minutes and 50 seconds."

"Does it usually take this long?"

"Yours was 'round the same time as hers but if it goes over...well ya know what'll happen."

Ichigo stared anxiously beyond the golden-yellow barrier and directly at the fight that was happening within. It has been a while since Lisa had switched with Kensai and now it was Love's turn to fight the now almost fully hollowfied 5th division captain. She now sported a reptilian like tail with one long, deep purple line that ran along the length of it, a full hollowed, frilled-neck lizard mask and she was sporting white talons along with a strange, white spinal piece that stood in large, wave like patterns. Down on all fours, she definitely didn't look human anymore; more like an angry Komodo dragon-frilled neck lizard hybrid.

Love jumped back from a white claw that tried to tear him to shreds, distancing himself from the now lizard-like captain. Ichigo's teeth involuntarily clenched; a little anxious and worried for Reimei now. If she doesn't pull through, they'd have no choice but to kill her. The orange haired teen sure did not hope it would have to come to that or else, his death would probably follow suit afterwards by the wrath of the short but rather scary-when-angered white haired captain.

'_C'mon Reimei...Don't give up!'_

The hollow let out a shrieking roar before opening its mouth to form an indigo coloured cero. Everyone present in the area immediately tensed.

"I'm gonna have to pull out the mask if I wanna get out of this alive!" shouted Love as he prepared to form his mask. But before the cero shot could be fired, the hollow lizard let out another shriek. The attention of everyone immediately was drawn to the source and on close inspection, the face of the lizard revealed a visible crack. The crack started to grow till it reached half way down the lizard's nose before the mask completely shattered along with the white shell of the body. A bright light seeped out from within the body as the monster howled out in agony almost before its entire body shattered into pieces. The light grew as the body broke, blinding everyone in the area.

Once the light cleared, lying on the ground was a raven-violet haired captain unmoving. Beside her, the lizard like mask laid almost innocently on the dirt ground. Hacchin released the barrier that he created and everyone started to make their way to Reimei cautiously. Ichigo came to be the closest to her, slightly worried that she's a little too unmoving then needed.

"Reimei..? Oi, are you okay?" Ichigo asked frantically. He came to be about 2 feet away from her when he finally caught a clear sight of her slowly rising and lowering back, indicating that she was still breathing. Ichigo let out a sigh of relief and a small chuckle, '_She must be exhausted to pass out right when she completed the hollowification.'_

"Tch, sleeping like a baby. Now we gotta wait for her to wake up before training?" Hiyori scoffed, glancing down at the sleeping captain.

"It would seem so." Shinji spoke blandly, "I think we all need a little break."

On that note, Kensei had already gathered Reimei in his arms.

"Man I want some BBQ or something! I'm starving!" Hiyori cried.

"I think it's 'bout time we eat; it'll also pass a bit of time 'fore the little trooper wakes up." Shinji said as the group of vizards and Ichigo walked off to the side to, as it seems, prepare for a BBQ eating. Hacchin had prepared a thin futon for Kensei to place Reimei on. Ichigo took one last look at the soundly sleeping captain before smiling to himself and left to join the others.

'_I'm glad you were able to pull through, though you did have me worried at one point.'_ His smile faltered briefly as another thought stumbled into his mind. _'I hope you won't leave Toushiro hanging for long. For all I know, I could still be number one on his hit list._'

"_**Reimei...? Can you hear me?**_"

"mmm..."

"_**Reimei, you need to wake up..."**_

"...Ten more minutes..."

"..._**You've already slept for nearly three days!"**_

"...I have..?"

"_**Yes! So get up!"**_

I only remembered sitting up straight, and then the whiplash I got afterwards. It wasn't such a smart idea to bolt upright from sleeping for nearly three days.

"Oh so sleeping beauty's finally awake..." droned a voice coming from my right. I warily turned my head, rubbing my neck while doing so. Blinking the sleep from my eyes, my sight settled on the blonde man not sitting too far away from where I was apparently sleeping.

"Oh it's only you Shinji..." I murmured into my hand, still tired for some reason.

"Only me? Tch, I feel loved." I heard him muttered in reply. Currently, the whole vizard group was spread out amongst themselves, doing whatever it is that they usually do. Scanning them over, I realized that a particular orange head was missing.

"Where's Ichigo?" I asked to no one particular, glancing around me just in case if the missing person was just standing out of my line of view.

"He left; something 'bout a girl named Orihime being kidnapped."

At the news, my eyes widened. Did I miss that much in just three days?

"Anyways, we've got work to do. You gotta start yer training on controlling yer hollow powers." Shinji said. I looked down at my hands that were on my lap; I seriously need to wake up, all that sleep and that whiplash just give me a headache. But...what about Toushiro?

"If yer wonderin' 'bout the shinigamis that were stationed here, they left not too long ago to prepare for a war against Aizen..." Shinji said blandly though I caught a slight hint of venom when he said Aizen's name. I eyed him suspiciously, wondering how he managed to read my thoughts but I guess that way, I wouldn't have to explain myself. I let out a heavy sigh though, thinking that I won't be able to see Toushiro to be able to explain myself and frankly, I won't know how long it'll be before I can. There's so many things going on right now...

"Oi, you done ponderin' yet?" Shinji cut in, bonking me once on the head which didn't help my headache. At all. I glared up at him, grabbing my head and cradling it in my hands.

"You didn't have to do that you know!"

"Well yer wastin' training time if you just sit there. Besides," He took this moment to let a grin slip on his face. "A war is about to happen and frankly, we wouldn't wanna miss out on it."

I eyed him; so the Vizards are planning to take part in the upcoming war against Aizen? Well, I guess it did make sense; he was the one that got them into this whole hollowification mess anyways. I stiffly got up on my feet, stretching my limbs to get out any cranks from sleeping for so long. My zanpakutos were laid neatly beside my futon and I picked both of them up, strapping them into their proper places.

"So then, let's get training."

Shinji could only grin that Cheshire cat like smile and turned over to the rest of the vizard group who were lounging around. "Oi! Hiyori! Little miss captain here's under your supervision now!"

"You don't need to tell me that!" the short blonde haired girl spat back, stomping over to us with an annoyed look directed to the taller male who only stared down indifferently at her. With a quick kick to Shinji's shins, Hiyori gestured for me to follow her off in an empty area; seeing as how we were in a rocky terrain. How we got here, I wasn't so sure. She directed me to stand at one end of the field while she stood opposite of me a couple of metres away.

"You're going to summon your mask; all you have to do is maintain it for as long as you can while fighting me." She explained with arms crossed. Simple enough I thought but I wasn't sure as to how to summon my mask. Oh well, I guess I just have to think about it and copy what she does. Without giving me so much as a warning, Hiyori hovered her hand over her face and in a quick pulling motion to the right, had her mask on and was charging at me like a rhino. The horn on her mask did not help with the effect. I gasped and dodged her swinging blade and quickly, I mimicked the same gesture Hiyori had done to get her mask in place. Suddenly, everything seemed slightly darkened and I instantly felt a rush of adrenaline course through me. Unsheathing Tsumetai Kaze's blade, I blocked Hiyori's blade just in time. The force of it nearly knocked me back. I pushed away but the blonde haired vizard wasted no time in coming at me again. I parried her blade and tried to land a hit on her but she was fast enough to dodge and strike back with twice the speed. I was sent back skidding; upon blocking her blade again, the adrenaline rush faded and everything appeared clearer. Almost immediately after, I was sent flying back and my back met with a boulder. I crashed through it painfully, leaving a deep indent.

I choked to catch my breath and pulled myself up. Already I felt droplets of sweat run down my forehead.

"Not bad for your first time; 30 seconds." Shinji called from the sidelines. I looked at him in disbelief; it had only been 30 seconds? I swear it felt longer than that; or maybe it was just that Hiyori kept ruthlessly attacking me that made it feel longer.

"Oi! Quit getting distracted and concentrate!" Hiyori yelled and I barely had enough time to jump out of the way from her oncoming attack. I pulled on my mask and once again, my body felt lighter with the adrenaline.

I didn't know how long we have been going at it but eventually I was knocked down and I didn't have the strength to pull myself back up. Sweat coated my skin and dirt also clung onto me from tumbling around on the ground too much. Scratches, bruises and the occasional gashes littered my body and some were dried with blood. My zanpakuto lay limply in my hand as I laid flat on my stomach, panting and huffing for breath. Hiyori, from time to time, had to remove her mask during our sparring but it was certain that she could keep it on longer than I could. My mask broke well over a hundred times as the more I focused on keeping it on, the more I wasn't keeping focused on the battle I was having with Hiyori but if I didn't focus on the mask and more on the battle, it was more easier to have the mask shatter. There had to be a perfect balance between the two and finding it, I found, was difficult.

"Guess you're worn out for the day huh?" Hiyori asked as she sheathed her zanpakuto back. She wasn't panting as hard as I was but she was still fatigued from the long sparring match. I could only muster half a nod from my position on the ground. At that, she scoffed and muttered something incoherently under her breath.

"Not bad, not bad. I'd say better than Ichigo the first time he tried this out though I'm sure it's 'cuz you got better control at your reiatsu than he does..." Shinji drawled as he walked closer to me, a digital stop watch in his hand as he knelt down to me. "One minute and twenty-five seconds. Not bad, but not even close to the three minute average we all manage."

My eyes widened at the time average; they're all able to keep their mask on for three minutes?

"How long...does this usually...take?" I huffed out. I gritted my teeth in annoyance as he just shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

"Depends on the person..."

"Then how long will I have until the war against Aizen starts?" I asked once again as I shakily hauled myself up to a crouching position. If I'm on a tight schedule, then at this rate I'll have no choice but to train from sunrise to sun down to be able to at least keep my mask on for three minutes. If that's the price I have to pay for this power then so be it. I glanced up at the blonde man, wondering why he was awfully quiet about my question. I soon found out why; his face held the familiar Cheshire cat grin as he stared down at me.

"You have until tomorrow."

**Dun Dun Dun... Reimei only has till tomorrow to train until it's the big battle! What will she do? Even I don't know! XD! -Sigh- Well yeah so... I'll really try my best to update another chapter but like I said, I'm having trouble with this story cuz I don't know where it's going or how exactly I can end this XD.**

**Once again, thank you to all who reviewed this story! Every now and then I get new reviews for this story and it makes me happy to see people reading my story ^^ so thank you all! I apologize for such the long wait but I can't help it D:! DX**

**R&R! X)**


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